F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 198 Unsettled Mind - Rosberg Version
At 6 PM, Q1 started working.

Teams capable of competing in Q2 all opted for a soft tire start, and the other drivers were released early, allowing Rosberg to easily achieve a lap time of 1 minute 35.657 seconds.

This result is even worse than the lap times shown in practice, and far from reaching the level of qualifying. It is clear that everyone's first flying lap is an attempt.

Wu Shi also ran a lap with everyone, achieving a time of 1 minute 35.754 seconds, which was slightly slower than Rosberg's, placing him in second place.

But that's meaningless. Hamilton's time is only 1 minute 35.987 seconds. Is that even possible? That's impossible!
The leading teams were still observing, so after everyone completed their first flying lap, Force India and Sauber squeezed into the top ten.

This is clearly not the final result; everyone is waiting for the second flying lap!
The first to break the second lap mark wasn't anyone on the track, but Vettel, who hadn't even left the pit lane for the first seven minutes.

He had just finished a warm-up lap and immediately began speeding.

With Mercedes not exerting any effort on the track, he directly blew Rosberg's time by 0.339 seconds in the first timeout, and continued to go all out in the second timeout, blew it by another 0.3 seconds.

The final timing was slowed down, losing only about 0.2 seconds, resulting in a final time of 1 minute 34.919 seconds.

After completing the lap, with three minutes remaining, Vettel cooled off and returned directly to the pit lane.

This German man still flaunts his genius without any attempt to hide it.

In comparison, the old man is not as straightforward as Vettel.

Driving the fastest car in the paddock, and having to do two flying laps in Q1 like everyone else, what are you hiding here?

Sure enough, when the second flying lap began, Hamilton's speed was incredibly fast. Just as Vettel had previously broken Rosberg's fastest lap, Hamilton broke Vettel's fastest lap as well.

After speeding down, it directly topped the leaderboard with a time of 1 minute 33.928 seconds.

Rosberg, Wu Shi, Massa and others then crossed the finish line one after another, quickly pushing Vettel down to seventh place.

Besides Benfawei squeezing to the front, Red Bull's Ricciardo was also 0.3 seconds faster than Vettel.

Unfortunately, the other Red Bull cars, both large and small, didn't seem to have the ability to get to the front row.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the battleground at the front today consisted of two Mercedes, two French teams, and one Mercedes, so there were no major surprises about the performance of the two Red Bulls.

When the clock stopped at Q1, the Mano duo was unsurprisingly eliminated. Their car was not competitive, being a full four or five seconds slower than the third-to-last car, which was hardly worthy of being called an F1 car.

However, there's nothing that can be done. Mano is facing internal and external troubles. As I said before, being able to run races is already quite an achievement.

And who is third to last?
It's Kvyat, the Kvyat of Red Bull.

It wasn't that Kvyat made any mistakes, but rather that the vehicle's stability was compromised, leading to its unexpected elimination.

Another player eliminated was Verstappen, who was 0.23 seconds slower than his teammate and was eliminated in Q1.

Besides these four drivers, McLaren's Button unfortunately retired from qualifying before even completing a single lap due to engine trouble.

However, Alan Tammy achieved McLaren's first-ever Q2 finish this season, perhaps a testament to the power of sacrifice?
Overall, Q1 showed the lack of performance from both Red Bull and Big Red Bull, and it remains to be seen how they will handle this track going forward.

There wasn't much rest during qualifying, and Q2 started quickly.

As with all Q2 situations, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Williams drivers have a more special task: to achieve a time that secures a place in Q3 with a flying lap.

This does require some time to prepare.

The two Force India cars and the two Lotus cars almost immediately sped off. They didn't have the mindset of a big team; they were basically going to fly two laps on those tires.

Making it into Q3 is a win, who cares about the tires losing money at launch?

"Besides Mercedes and Ferrari, Sauber and McLaren didn't go out either, as did Ricciardo."

Jonathan's voice rang out. It was unclear whether these people were trying to save on the tires or were aiming for a place in the Q3.

The teams couldn't worry about that. In the second half of Q2, drivers who only planned to do one flying lap started to enter the track one after another.

Kimi率先将成绩带入1分33秒，以1分33秒540的成绩排在了第一名。

Soon, Massa's time came out, and he was 0.011 seconds slower than Kimi.

Applause erupted in the P room as Massa smoothly entered Q3, having completed his Q2 mission.

Next up was Wu Shi, who took first place with a time of 1 minute 33.500 seconds, pushing Kimi out of the running.

Applause erupted again in the P room, this time even louder.

However, before everyone could celebrate for long, Hamilton crossed the track, and his time of 1 minute 32.669 seconds was a bit too dazzling.

They opened up a gap of 0.8 seconds!
Many people couldn't help but shake their heads, especially Rodrigo and Jonathan, who were surprised that Wu Shi's prediction was so accurate, with Hamilton's lap time in the 1 minute 32 second range.

This has almost completely dashed everyone's hopes for pole position; it seems that the pole position in Sepang depends entirely on that rain.

Only on rainy days can other race cars have a chance to compete with Mercedes.

The broadcast camera then focused on Ferrari, whose members looked far more serious than Williams.

After all, Williams was already happy to be able to secure third place, and he didn't even consider Mercedes as a target.

But Ferrari is different. Don't forget why the previous team leader was gone. Wasn't it because of poor performance?

In other words, Ferrari's crew faces immense KPI pressure, far exceeding that of other teams, so it would be strange if they didn't look serious upon seeing this situation.

When Rosberg completed a lap with a time of 1 minute 33.878 seconds, no one dared to underestimate him, assuming he hadn't made it into Q3 and was still holding back.

Only Wu Shi, who had already parked the car in the pit lane and was looking at Jonathan's screen behind the steering wheel, realized that Rosberg was having some problems driving today, whether he was not used to the car or something else.

He told Jonathan, "He's really slow."

Jonathan nodded and said, "Good luck!"

The clock stopped in Q2, and the drivers eliminated from front to back were Sainz, Perez, Nasr, Ericsson, and Alonso.

It's a real shame that the car wasn't good enough, which resulted in it finishing last in Q2.

Sainz, on the other hand, showed good performance and almost made it into Q3.

By Q3, the atmosphere in the team had become tense, and everyone tacitly released their cars one by one.

"The temperature hasn't changed much, and the wind speed has decreased to only 2.3 meters per second, but it will still affect the vehicle's stability, so we need to be extra careful about crosswinds," Jonathan reminded Wu Shi before he left.

Wu Shi gave a thumbs-up to indicate that he understood.

Buzz!

Wu Shi entered the track, taking a deep breath in and out.

His goal for tonight is to run a time of 1 minute and 32 seconds.

The wind was howling, I couldn't tell if it was the impact of the cars or the natural wind from the track.

Lotus's duo, Grosjean and Bottas, took the lead and raced even faster than in Q2, but they couldn't go any faster.

Given the vehicle's performance, to improve lap times, one must possess even more exceptional driving skills.

Clearly, Bottas, who was still relatively young, had not yet reached that level of maturity.

As for the flag, the ability to carry Sauber to score points has already been exhausted.

The two athletes' first lap time was only around 1 minute and 34.5 seconds, leaving little room for improvement.

Hulkenberg, on the other hand, easily clocked a time of 1 minute 34.450 before calling it quits, having already outpaced the two Lotus cars. That was enough.

Now, only four teams and seven players remain to continue the fierce battle.

Hamilton continued to demonstrate his exceptional ability, setting a time of 1 minute 32.631 seconds on his first flying lap, a further improvement over Q2.

Wu Shi ran a time of 1 minute 33.381 seconds on his first lap, second only to Hamilton.

While this result isn't exceptional, it demonstrates most of the vehicle's performance capabilities.

Massa finished his lap with a time of only 1 minute 33.744 seconds, and many in the team pouted, realizing that things were not going well.

Considering that Wu Shi is usually 0.5 seconds faster than Massa, the previous result was already close to the limit.

At this point, Rosberg's first flying lap came out, with a time of only 1 minute 33.390 seconds.

Williams and the others were on tenterhooks. Until now, apart from Hamilton, no one was faster than Wu Shi!
When half the time had passed and everyone had completed their first lap, Wu Shi was still in second place.

"Is there any chance of securing second place?" Claire asked.

“The results will be revealed soon,” Jonathan replied.

In the first flying lap of Q3, everyone basically kept a steady pace to ensure a valid lap time, until the second flying lap, when they would push themselves to their limits.

With only 3 minutes left, all the drivers began preparing for their second flying lap.

Wu Shi's cooling lap was running very slowly. He intentionally let the others run ahead, or rather, he was waiting for Jonathan's notification to see if he could catch the tail current.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy thing to do in Q3, and even teammates find it difficult to make such a sacrifice.

Ricciardo was the first to complete the lap, with a time of 1 minute 33.832 seconds, just ahead of the midfield teams, placing him seventh.

Then it was Massa's turn, and he did even worse on this lap than on the previous one!
The three cars, Kimi, Rosberg, and Vettel, were divided into three sections.

When Kimi entered the second timeout, Rosberg began to speed.

Vettel followed the same method.

The three of them started timing.

Kimi was much faster than before, crossing the finish line in 1 minute 33.227 seconds, overtaking Wu Shi and temporarily taking second place.

Rosberg followed closely behind, crossing the finish line half a minute later with a time of 1 minute 33.129 seconds! He pushed Kimi out of the running again. "He didn't even break 1 minute 32 seconds?!" Jonathan exclaimed in surprise, immediately informing Wu Shi of the situation.

"Yeah, very good."

Wu Shi felt less pressured.

However, just as he was about to speed away, Jonathan's voice rang out again:

"Vettel's time is out: 1 minute 32.982 seconds."

Wu Shi did not respond. The white race car had already bypassed turns 14 and 15 and was heading straight for the starting straight.

With the engine at full power and DRS activated upon entering the straightaway, the vehicle's speed was rapidly increased.

With a humming sound, the vehicle bounced up and down, its speed soaring to 330 kph, a decent top speed.

The moment the thought flashed through Wu Shi's mind, the vehicle began to brake accordingly.

The gears went down one after another, and when it reached second gear, the vehicle began to prepare to enter the corner at a speed of only 104 kph.

As the vehicle approached the apex of the bend, it continued to reduce its speed, eventually reaching only 70 kph.

In Bahrain, you can't start accelerating as soon as you hit the apex of Turn 1. You have to go out of the corner a bit and straighten the car before you can accelerate, otherwise it will be difficult to enter Turn 2.

Buzz! Roar!

Wu Shi grasped the key point of exiting the corner, and with a slight touch of the accelerator, he immediately began to press down the pedal in a controlled manner, and the vehicle accelerated rapidly.

Because the speed at turn 1 is too slow, when you get to the apex of turn 2, you don't need to slow down at all; just keep pressing the accelerator and shifting up.

The next turn, number 3, is just a fake turn; you don't need to ease off the throttle at all.

This brings you to the first DRS straight. Accelerate without hesitation and speed along until you are 75 meters from the apex of the corner before you need to slow down to enter the corner.

Wu Shi estimated the performance of the tires and the coordination of braking force, so he touched the brakes a little later.

On DRS sections, the DRS will automatically deactivate once the brakes are applied, which will result in a loss of time.

He only braked suddenly when he had no choice but to step on the brakes.

The four wheels immediately felt a surge of heat, while the fine sand on the asphalt road surface slightly affected the grip.

The run-off area of ​​the Bahrain circuit is made of cohesive fine sand, but even though it's cohesive, some sand still ends up on the track.

Wu Shi had naturally noticed this situation long ago.

He chose to speed almost last because speeding ahead of the cars would help keep the track as clean as possible.

Others might not care about the slight changes brought about by the fine sand, but he does.

Buzz! Crackling sounds.

After the engine roared loudly, the sound of backfire suppression indicated that the gear was being lowered.

After turning 4, you need to keep turning right. When the car is almost straight, you will see a main road on the left. If you are not careful, you may take the wrong turn.

However, for Wu Shi, the details of every bend were completely imprinted in his mind, and he instinctively blocked out any distractions.

The vehicle veered to the left, crossed the white line at the intersection of the main road on the left, and then drove onto the red and white shoulder.

This more extroverted running style requires extreme restraint to gain the time it takes.

"Your time for the first time slot is 29.866 seconds! 29.866 seconds!"

Jonathan's voice rang out, but Wu Shi automatically blocked it out.

紧接着的5、6、7弯仅仅在从5号弯转向6号弯的时候需要稍稍减速。

Then, go full throttle and aim for Turn 7. No need to brake; just slightly release the throttle to maintain higher grip and you can easily get through.

After Turn 7, there is a downhill section, and the strange feeling of weightlessness always gives Wu Shi a strange feeling.

He didn't pay much attention, moved from right to left in the lane, then adjusted his braking ratio and entered Turn 8.

The second time trial section has the most complex curves and requires the most attention to detail.

After hairpin turn 8, there is a short straight section. At the end of the straight, there is a second DRS detection point, but the DRS straight is still after hairpin turns 9 and 10.

Turns 9 and 10 are handled similarly to double apex turns. Instead of aiming for the apex of Turn 9, you should try to find the apex of Turn 10 from the outside.

Slowing down can also be done after entering Turn 9.

Williams #59 made the most of the edges and corners of the track, but couldn't touch more than three-quarters of the way beyond the kerb.

During practice, Wu Shi knew that there was a lot of fine sand left there, and he confirmed this again during the first flying laps of Q1, Q2 and Q3.

To be honest, if someone has an accident on a bend, they will be extremely cautious around that bend, otherwise they will most likely be affected by the fine sand.

Once past Turn 10, the car began to accelerate rapidly, and the most difficult part of the second time trial was over.

For the next large S-curve, just make good use of the track space and speed.

Swoosh! Swish!

"Second timing, 39.411 seconds, 39.411 seconds!"

Jonathan was already excited; in the first split, Wu Shi was 0.08 seconds faster than Vettel.

In the second timing segment, Wu Shi was a full 0.1 seconds faster!
Vettel's time is 1 minute 32.982 seconds. If everything goes smoothly from here on out, Wu Shi will definitely surpass that lap time!
It's not impossible for him to achieve a time of 1 minute and 32.6 seconds!

However, when he turned his attention to Hamilton's data, his brows still furrowed.

The old man was still racing fast, even faster than Wu Shi in the first time trial, but there was still a chance to race.

The broadcast camera would sometimes focus on Wu Shi, and sometimes on Hamilton.

The drivers, whose qualifying session had already ended, watched the two drivers battling fiercely on the big screen.

Vettel wiped his sweat with a towel and shook his head. This speed is too fast. What kind of monster is this? How can he drive Williams like this!

Twenty seconds later, Wu Shi crossed the finish line, and the final result was announced.

1 minutes 32 seconds 698!

He ran a time of 1 minute 32.6 seconds!

clap clap clap!
"Wow!" Verstappen exclaimed in surprise after watching it, while the leader clapped and laughed.

Vettel smiled and shook his head. The front row hadn't been taken, and they were still down by almost 0.3 seconds.

Compared to these people, Rosberg looked even more unwell. He was drinking water, his eyes somewhat vacant, lost in thought.

In the Williams pit lane, Jonathan hugged the engineer next to him. Another front-row start, outperforming Ferrari and Rosberg!
Moments later, Hamilton crossed the finish line, setting a new personal best.

1 minutes 32 seconds 571.

"Oh, I think I ran pretty well," Wu Shi asked.

“Of course, that’s fantastic!” Jonathan said.

“I think Mercedes’ cars are still too fast, right?” Wu Shi asked.

"You've done your best."

Jonathan wanted to say that you're 1.2 seconds faster than Massa, but he didn't say it. That's really not a line that's appropriate to say in TR.

Back in the P room, Wu Shi didn't feel any more relaxed despite his good ranking.

He quickly glanced at the overall leaderboard and saw that Vettel, Rosberg, and Kimi were behind him, which made him quite nervous.

In the main race, he'll be driving a Williams, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes to compete.
Just thinking about it makes it clear that it will be an exceptionally tough match.

He took off his helmet, grabbed a bottle of water, and started chugging it down.

Then I happened to see another Mercedes-Benz coming back.

He thought about going over to celebrate, the old man was really too fierce, Liu Yiquan's reputation was not for nothing.

If Hamilton makes a mistake this time, he might just steal the win.

When I arrived at the Mercedes-Benz Arena for a visit, before I could even greet the old man, I saw Rosberg, who was dressed in dark colors and looked rather cold.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the princess's blonde hair didn't have the same luster as before.

But thinking about it, it makes sense; Rosberg's matches have been quite unsuccessful since the start of the tournament.

Not only was he pulled away by his teammates, but he was also stepped on the head by Wu Shi and Vettel.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Shi thought it best to go back. Congratulating the old man might only put more pressure on Rosberg.

Just as he was leaving, Rosberg caught a glimpse of him. He didn't say anything, but adjusted his Mercedes baseball cap.

The old man climbed out of the car, took off his helmet, and gave Rosberg a symbolic high-five.

"Hey, I just saw that kid Wu Shi. Why didn't he come over and say a word?" the old man asked directly.

Rosberg forced a stiff smile and said, "I don't know, maybe something's wrong."

(End of this chapter)