F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 197 The Battle for Second Place

Seeing Jonathan's delighted expression, Wu Shi quickly realized the problem.

What benefits will unparalleled, controllable stability bring to the team?
Reducing vehicle damage is just the least noteworthy of its advantages.

The most important thing is the strategic choice space!
“It seems you’ve realized it too. You should have reminded us sooner that you were capable of doing this,” Jonathan said.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't think of that at first."

"Well, I need to get two sets of your data during the training matches. One set is normal, like Massa's, and the other set is data in your current condition."

"Then, I'll discuss with Rodrigo whether it's possible to use this stability to launch some strategic counterattacks," Jonathan said, becoming increasingly excited.

"Could we take the previous station for a simulation first?" Wu Shi asked.

"of course."

Jonathan brought over a laptop, entered a few lines of basic data, and then connected it to the computer group to begin calculations.

Several strategies were quickly developed.

The optimal combination remains yellow, yellow, and white, but the one-stop strategy won't be much slower.

"I think there's still a significant gap between this prediction and reality. It's impossible for a medium tire to complete 36 laps, not even for me," Wu Shi said helplessly.

"That requires your feedback."

After Jonathan changed the tire wear value, he corrected the previous deviation.

“Actually, we can extend the time of each stint. In the final stage, you will have the opportunity to launch an attack on Rosberg, of course, without a safety car.”

As he spoke, Jonathan changed his strategy again.

Wu Shi saw the result: the first set of tires was used to qualify, so pitting around lap 15 was an unavoidable choice.

The second set of new soft tires, according to the computer data, was sufficient to last until 35 laps, and Rosberg pitted on lap 31.

The medium tires have been four laps new, enough time for Kimi to launch an attack on Rosberg just as he did on Vettel.

This was indeed a good simulation, but the actual situation would be much more complicated because it was hindsight. They knew Vettel wouldn't run fast afterward, so they dared to do it this way.

If Vettel were to run even faster, then such a pit stop for a tire change would likely expose his rear end.

The risks involved are considerable.

However, F1 is an extreme sport, and it is impossible to make decisions without taking any risks.

Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the FIA ​​convened a small meeting with the teams.

As a formal driver for the Wei team, Wu Shi was invited to participate.

Given the current difficulties in operating Formula 1, only Mercedes and Ferrari, with their deep pockets, can afford to be less concerned about the costs of participating in the race.

The other teams, especially the lagging ones, basically lost money throughout the year.

This is very detrimental to the long-term development of F1. If everyone continues to lose money, no one will want to play it anymore after a few years.

Therefore, the FIA ​​has been trying to find ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

The budget cap appears to be two sides of the same coin, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. With a budget cap, large, well-funded teams can be restricted from aggressive research and development, preventing smaller teams from constantly investing funds, thus reducing costs.

Larger teams may be unable to build Mars rovers due to funding constraints, which gives smaller teams a chance to benefit, effectively increasing efficiency.

Unfortunately, the issue of a budget cap is raised every year, but there is great resistance and it is difficult to reach an agreement.

After much compromise, the FIA's "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" policy for the 2015 season only cut the "budget" for the number of engines, which was nominally a cost reduction measure.

This method of cutting has now caused new problems.

Each team was required to use only four engines, which did save money for smaller teams.

But given the reliability of Renault and Honda engines since the beginning of the season, it's almost impossible to use only four engines anymore. Doesn't that seem contradictory?
In addition, both manufacturers believe that four engines per season is too few, and they can only patch up the old engines, which will only increase the failure rate.

There are those who want to increase engine usage, and those who want to maintain the status quo.

Teams with limited funds, such as Sauber or Force India, are concerned about whether increasing the number of engines available each season would require paying an additional set of engines to the engine supplier.

The small meeting was essentially a way to give each team a heads-up beforehand, facilitating the subsequent negotiations.

Finally, the FIA ​​set May 14 as the date for the debate on this issue.

"What does the boss think about this?" Wu Shi asked Jonathan after the meeting.

"Mercedes has focused on improving stability in its engines this year," Jonathan replied.

Wu Shi nodded, it seemed that Team Wei was not very supportive of having an extra engine.

“Bahrain is hot, just like Malaysia, but this year’s competition, like last year’s, will be held at night, so we will face both opportunities and risks,” Jonathan cautioned.

Wu Shi then thought of the Sepang circuit, where Mercedes lost to Vettel because they didn't manage tire wear expectations well, and the internal discord between the veterans, Vettel and the princess, affected their normal strategic arrangements.

Mercedes' only weakness at this point might be the lack of a clear number one and number two driver, resulting in a lack of cooperation between Hamilton and Rosberg.

Therefore, on the track, it is often seen that Hamilton and Rosberg either pit at the same time or only one lap apart.

This is to prevent different team strategies from affecting the championship race.

This is what happens when you have two drivers who are not too far apart in skill.

When Hamilton and Bottas were paired together, no one ever questioned Hamilton's status as the number one player.

If Bottas had the ability to compete with Hamilton, the Mercedes team would definitely not be so peaceful.

All racing teams have always followed this principle.

“Our tire wear is actually no better than Mercedes-Benz’s,” Wu Shi countered.

"I know, it's just that you can do better, which gives us a slight advantage."

Jonathan shook his head; that was Westbrook's problem right now.

Wu Shi was able to perform like the first or second best car, but Massa couldn't keep up, so most of the time, Wu Shi was the only one facing the four cars from the Mercedes and Ferrari teams.

"Let's talk about it later. We'll see how things go in the practice match."

Time flew by and it was 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and the first training session began.

Pirelli offers two tire compounds at this station: yellow soft tires and white medium tires.

Less than five days have passed since the last race, and everyone's vehicles are almost identical to those before.

Aside from adjustments to the tuning, even if a research and development direction is discovered elsewhere, it's impossible to update components in a timely manner.

Therefore, each team is comparing previous data to try and see what their competitors are up to.

As usual, most teams started the practice session with medium tires to get a feel for the track's characteristics.

However, the Bahrain Grand Prix is ​​being held in the evening this year. As we all know, Bahrain has a very large temperature difference between day and night, so the data from the first free practice session in the sweltering afternoon may be difficult to match with the data from the main race.

From the very beginning of the test, Wu Shi's task was somewhat different from Massa's. He needed to provide the team with as much tuning data as possible to make the car more competitive.

Massa conducted a full-length test, and the medium tires only showed significant degradation after 20 laps, which is a fairly objective finding.

The two Mercedes runners kept a low profile, both completing 23 laps, but their fastest lap times only ranked 15th and 16th respectively. Clearly, neither of them was pushing themselves, and it's anyone's guess what will happen next.

Ferrari, on the other hand, was very fast, taking first and second place by a second and a half faster than Mercedes.

However, given the temperature reaching 50°C in the middle of the training session, many vehicles avoided the battle, as it would cause too much damage to the engine, and the test data could not be matched with the lower temperature at night, making it completely unprofitable.

As soon as the practice session ended, the drivers returned to the pit lane. Wu Shi couldn't wait to take off his helmet and pull up his racing suit.

too hot!
Massa also felt unwell.

After cooling off for a while, the two went to check the data.

Massa stroked his chin, looked at the data on the screen, and said, "I bet Ferrari is still reeling from their tactical victory in Sepang."

"Ferrari's performance in high temperatures is indeed excellent, but the temperature will be much lower during the race," Wu Shi said.

“It will definitely be cold.” Massa nodded and added, “It’s fortunate that it was changed to the evening, otherwise my old bones wouldn’t be able to withstand the torment of high temperatures.”

Wu Shi just smiled when he heard this. Not being able to stand the high temperature didn't mean he couldn't handle the high temperature competition; he just didn't want to suffer for nothing.

He continued regarding practice sessions: "Practice session 2 will be held at 6 o'clock, and I guess all the teams will be here testing two different tire compounds."

"Yes, let's wait for the data analyst's report. It seems we still need to divide the work."

"Of course, I think that's why a team has two drivers. We're fighting side by side, not alone."

Wu Shi extended his fist, and Massa, understanding, smiled and gave him a fist bump.

Once all the actual data from the first training exercise and the data used for prediction were calculated, Claire called a small meeting where strategy engineer Rodrigo presented the situation.

"In the first practice session, we saw that the medium tires performed well, and we expect them to last for 25 laps in the race."

Rodrigo pointed to the curve on the paper, which was the predicted result after adjusting the temperature parameters.

At lower temperatures, tire degradation will naturally be less.

"As for speed, we have combined the fastest timeouts of the two Mercedes drivers, and we expect them to finish the race on medium tires in 1 minute and 40 seconds."

Wu Shi looked at Massa's and his own predicted speeds. He was slightly better, with a speed of 1 minute and 40 seconds.

Massa was much slower, around 1 minute and 41 seconds, and it's normal for him to be a difference of 0.5 to 1 second per lap.

Wu Shi took a deep breath. Mercedes, which has won the team championship and swept the driver's first and second place in history, is indeed not just a name.

They haven't even fully revealed their strength yet, but they've already caused everyone a lot of headaches.

"This is under high temperature conditions. I guess everyone's lap time will be different under low temperature conditions, but without the corresponding data, it is impossible to estimate accurately."

"So, for the practice match later, Wu Shi," Rodrigo called out.

Wu Shi looked at him.

"I need you to test your condition on soft and medium tires."

"it is good."

This means he will have to test with two different sets of tires, leaving him with only one brand-new set of soft tires for the race.

But it doesn't really matter. He can only use one set of soft tires in the main race, unless he sets his time on medium tires in Q2—which would still be possible to finish in Q2, but he would probably suffer a big disadvantage at the start.

After agreeing on the outcome, everyone quickly took their places.

The second training session officially began at 6 PM.

Each team was eager to compete, immediately switching to soft tires and taking off.

With the track temperature dropping to around 25°C, both the drivers and the vehicles will feel much more comfortable.

To complete the team's mission, Massa ran a full 36 laps before coming off the track, giving both the soft and medium tires extensive testing.

However, his fastest lap time on soft tires was rather underwhelming, at only 1 minute 35.884 seconds, placing him tenth.

Wu Shi, in order to test the limits of performance, managed to run a time of 1 minute and 34 seconds, placing him second.

Clearly, everyone was just messing around during the afternoon practice session! It didn't really showcase their true speed at all.

According to telemetry data, everyone continued to drive conservatively on the neutral tires, and Rodrigo updated the information again after the second practice session.

"Based on the latest data, the prediction that Mercedes' average lap time in the race is 1 minute and 40 seconds may be an underestimate, and it will probably be about 0.3 seconds faster."

Even so, it is clear that this is not their full strength, and they can move even faster if someone threatens them.

"Ferrari isn't as terrifying as Mercedes, but it still possesses formidable strength."

"Given Wu Shi's situation, he has a chance to catch up with the top group. We predict that a podium finish would be a good result."

Wu Shi obtained Rodrigo's data, and Hamilton's qualifying lap time is estimated to be around 1 minute 32 seconds.

"Hamilton's qualifying lap time might be faster," he said, raising his hand to indicate his opinion.

"Oh?" Rodrigo was somewhat surprised.

“Rosberg clearly didn’t run a few short segments well, and stitching them together like that obviously means he underestimated Hamilton,” Wu Shi said.

Rodrigo was somewhat surprised, as he felt that Rosberg's performance in the timed segments was already quite good.

He truly deserves to be called the strongest rookie in the paddock; even his replays are sharper than those of the veteran engineers in the team.

“Hmm, so you mean?” Rodrigo asked.

"In the qualifying rounds, we're once again vying for third or fourth place," Wu Shi offered an objective assessment.

“No, if we go by what you say, I think you have a chance to compete for second place,” Rodrigo shook his head and corrected him.

"Didn't you notice? Rosberg's running style didn't seem to have many mistakes to us, and perhaps he thought so too. Therefore, the prediction of 1 minute and 32 seconds is still valid for him."

Rodrigo said seriously that, based on the data from the second practice session, Wu Shi should be able to get close to the end of 1 minute and 32 seconds, which is why he was looking at Wu Shi like that, as a signal to put pressure on him.

"Yes, if it's 32 seconds, I'll try my best." Wu Shi nodded emphatically and continued reading the analysis report.

There's not much to see in qualifying matches. Absolute speed is like math: if you can do it, you can do it. There's not much room for wrangling.

However, there are still many variables in the main competition.

The performance gap for Williams is mainly reflected in tire wear and cornering speed.

Fortunately, both of these aspects can be changed through Wu Shi's abilities, and with the addition of a low-temperature track, Williams' strength can be better utilized.

Regardless, the gap between him and Mercedes is still significant. If Rodrigo's analysis of Rosberg's situation is true, then he is not actually in the same league as the veteran on this track.

Therefore, there is indeed hope of challenging him.

The reason the situation is complicated is that if Rosberg performs like this, then Ferrari, which seems to have excellent speed, will also join the competition.

Vettel was still in his prime at this time, and Kimi wasn't too old to drive either; they were still able to keep up.

Thinking about competing against these three in the main competition, Wu Shi was sweating profusely. He hoped things wouldn't turn out so chaotically!
　PS: Dear readers, I apologize. I've been quite busy lately, and I don't have any drafts saved up, so I can no longer consistently update at 8:50 or 9:50. From now on, updates will be pushed back to around 10:50. I apologize for this.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)