F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 214 The Destroyed Circle

The broadcast camera focused on Wu Shi, who was staring blankly at the right rear suspension, and the commentator couldn't help but sigh in regret:

"If Wu Shi takes Turn 12 normally, he will have almost the same time as Lewis, and it is still unknown who will take pole position."

The commentator's sigh reflected the sentiments of everyone who watched the qualifying match.

Mercedes' track dominance has a loophole only in Wu Shi's case. People don't like to see the strong getting stronger; they prefer to see the brave challenge the dragon.

Mercedes, who dominated the entire 2014 season, was undoubtedly the evil dragon at this moment.

Jonathan also felt sorry, but he was more worried about Wu Shi's health and immediately contacted the team's medical staff.

Wu Shi got on Matthew's little motorcycle and drove back to the repair area.

The organizers anticipated that the car debris could not be cleared within the remaining time of Q3, and thus declared Q3 red flag over.

The final qualifying times are in, with Hamilton leading by a wide margin with a time of 1 minute 15.098 seconds, starting from pole position.

Wu Shi started in second place with a time of 1 minute 15.419 seconds.

Rosberg started third with a time of 1 minute 15.440 seconds.

The order after that is Vettel, Riccardo, Kvyat, Kimi, Bottas, Sainz, and Verstappen.

As soon as they returned to the repair area, Massa patted Wu Shi on the back and said, "It's already a pretty good result. Don't be too sad. How are you feeling now?"

"Yes, the impact did not cause any physical harm." Wu Shi nodded.

Physically, I'm fine, but I feel uneasy, and the previous scenes keep flashing through my mind.

On this kind of track, there is absolutely no chance for regret or correction at any turn; you either have to be cautious and slow down, or be precise and go all the way in one go.

This situation can only be described as extremely extreme.

After the weigh-in, Hamilton came over and asked with concern, "Are you still feeling alright?"

He patted Wu Shi on the shoulder, looked him up and down, and saw that he seemed to be in good condition.

"Thank you, it wasn't a very serious collision," Wu Shi replied.

"You performed exceptionally well. If you hadn't made any mistakes, you might have taken pole position," Hamilton laughed.

"Wasn't that a mistake? Haha."

Wu Shi smiled and shook his head. In fact, after seeing the old man's final results, he didn't think he could beat the old man.

Will changing to new tires improve the time by 0.3 seconds? Or is that possible when the previous time was already at its limit?
This is tantamount to wishful thinking.

Almost all the Q3 drivers came over to check on Wu Shi. Pan Zi was also quite disappointed, but after seeing that Wu Shi was alright, he couldn't help but say:

"The compound of this supersoft tire is still too hard, and the Renault engine is really not powerful enough."

"Yes, everyone is complaining about this. Although it's not very friendly to qualifying, it will be relatively better for the main race."

Wu Shi said that in Monaco, everyone wants to stop, so tires that are more durable will actually be beneficial for the race.

As for the engine Panzi mentioned, he couldn't comment on it, since he used a Mercedes engine and couldn't understand Panzi's experience.

"Oh, the people who interviewed you are here." Panzi pointed over there.

Wu Shi turned around and saw a female reporter step forward, handing him a microphone with the word "SKY" printed on it. The photographers and other reporters around him also came over.

"Wu Shi, congratulations on getting a front-row start. We saw that you were involved in an accident in Q3 at a relatively high speed. How are you feeling now?"

The reporter was just showing concern.

Wu Shi nodded and said:

"Yeah, I feel fine. The collision wasn't a head-on collision, but a side impact that caused the vehicle damage. I didn't actually experience a very strong impact."

The reporter nodded and continued, "Of course, it's the best thing that you weren't injured. I'm glad to hear that answer."

"As we all know, Monaco is a very difficult track to overtake. When you get a front row starting position, it means you have almost secured a podium position."

“But that doesn’t seem enough for you. Lewis is only 4 points behind you, and the difference between the champion and the runner-up is 7 points, which means you’d better win. What’s your take on that?”

Listening to the reporter's long and complicated sentences, Wu Shi nodded and said, "Yes, the points advantage brought by winning a station is huge, and if I could, I would of course want to win the championship."

"I think the suspense will be resolved after one lap. We have made a lot of adjustments to this track, but it still lacks speed in the corners."

"We'll have to wait and see how things unfold tomorrow. As a driver, I will definitely strive for the fastest speed."

Reporters around were either typing notes on their phones or scribbling down keywords in their notebooks. The reporting ideas that came to them during the on-site interviews were often the result of bursts of inspiration, which were invaluable.

After the interview, Wu Shi was immediately called away by Jonathan to give him a physical examination.

Although Wu Shi seems perfectly fine now, jumping around as if nothing happened, such a violent impact could actually cause unseen internal injuries.

Among these, concussion is the most well-known type of internal injury.

The reason for checking for internal injuries is primarily for the driver's health, and even more so as an assessment of whether the driver is fit to compete – this is for the safety of everyone on the track.

When a driver's brain is damaged, affecting their vision and reaction time, they are generally not allowed to participate in races.

After all, going onto the field in this condition makes it very easy for a secondary accident to occur.

However, this is not absolute. Pan Zi suffered a severe concussion after 51G, which affected his vision and made it blurry. Even though he recovered almost completely in a week, it is still not recommended that he participate in the competition.

But that was 2021, a championship year! No driver would allow themselves to miss a race in a championship year.

After the various media outlets completed their interviews, several news articles appeared on the front pages of major sports and motorsports publications.

"Monaco Qualifying: Wu Shi's lap of the stars falls short!"

"Wu Shi encountered his first major accident on the track! The situation was extremely dangerous!"

Wu Shi: I'm eager to win the WDC and will have a fierce competition with Mercedes!

"Driving with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, an unparalleled rookie!"

"Tsk tsk, every Grand Prix there's a ton of news about Wu Shi, he's just too popular," Ling Kang remarked.

“Don’t you think about how legendary his experience would be in F1?” Zeng Tianyi took a sip of milk tea.

“Hey! I said, have you thought it through? Wouldn’t it be great if we formed a go-kart team together?” Ling Kang glanced at Zeng Tianyi.

"Big brother! How old are we?" Zeng Tianyi said speechlessly.

"18."

"Bullshit! That's the Chinese age system, I won't be an adult until next year, I haven't even taken the college entrance exam yet!" Zeng Tianyi retorted.

"Stop talking nonsense, this is a hot trend! Look at Wu Shi's current situation, there's definitely a bunch of kids who will become fans because of him! Abroad it's a dream for kids to study law, in China it's a dream for kids to study Wu Shi!"

Ling Kang became more and more excited as he spoke. After returning to China, he participated in various competitions while also thinking about whether he could use his family's money to start a business.

Like Wu Shi, he hardly ever went to school and will probably spend his whole life with racing cars.

Zeng Tianyi shook his head; he was focused on his studies and didn't have time for such things. "Why don't you go find Ye Zhaohui?" he suggested.

"Him? I'm afraid most people wouldn't even acknowledge me." Ling Kang was both amused and exasperated; Ye Zhaohui's background was rather intimidating.

Ling Kang's family is considered wealthy, but compared to Ye Zhaohui, it's a joke.

After completing the medical diagnosis, Wu Shi was indeed fine. As he said, it was just a minor collision and he did not experience much impact.

His family members, presumably having seen the report, called him one after another, and he called them all back to let them know he was safe.

Sainz was disqualified from qualifying because he did not weigh in after the race and will start from the pit lane.

This shows a lack of proficiency in the business. Upon hearing this news, Pan Zi chuckled and sent a message to Wu Shi:

"I've already surpassed one rival, what about you?"

Upon seeing this, Wu Shi smiled knowingly and replied, "I'm waiting for the FIA ​​to penalize Lewis, but he doesn't seem to have made any mistakes. It's frustrating."

The following morning, the Wei team held a team meeting.

"What is our goal?" Claire asked at the outset.

After everyone looked at each other, Jonathan announced, "Drivers' Champion, Team Runner-up."

Claire nodded. Originally, her main focus was on external operations, and she was actually just a deputy team leader.

But now, Wu Shi's exceptionally strong performance has affected the importance of his work.

Furthermore, after Wu Shi's outstanding performance in the first match, Claire stood firmly behind this young man, which brought her unexpected gains.

Although she was the deputy team leader, she had only taken over temporary management authority from her father, so she had very little control over the team.

Since the beginning of the quarter, she has used Wu Shi's presence to manage a group of people, and now the power of the team is basically concentrated in her hands.

Now, even if Sir Williams were to relinquish control of the team, Claire is confident she can manage this massive group.

Top drivers have the same impact on a team as top engineers and team leaders.

"Yes, that's right. That's what we're aiming for this year, so any strategy must serve that goal. Now, regarding the Monaco main event, everyone can discuss their considerations."

Claire started the conversation, her unspoken message being how to win the drivers' championship that day.

Overtaking at the Monaco circuit is extremely difficult, so the pressure is basically on the strategy team.

"We have considered several scenarios. The first is that an accident occurs at the start of the train, triggering a yellow or red flag. We will make arrangements based on Lewis's situation: if he goes in, we don't go in; if he doesn't go in, we go in."

"Secondly, if an accident occurs between laps 2 and 26."

"Of course, we also need to consider a key issue: whether Lewis will choose to hold back the car."

The strategy team spoke at length, and their core point was to wait for the yellow flag, the safety car, and then the red flag.

Indeed, this is true. The drivers who make it to the front row in Monaco are all highly skilled, and it is extremely difficult to beat them on the track.

Just like today, nobody has considered the performance of vehicles. Why is that?

Because the performance gap will be narrowed in Monaco, most drivers will not be able to fully utilize the vehicle's capabilities.

On a track without a buffer zone, no one would dare to be as reckless as Wu Shi.

There weren't many opinions about the strategy.

After the conference ended, Wu Shi's crew held a smaller meeting.

“As always, you need to tell us about these situations.” Jonathan handed over a data sheet.

The above are assessments of different types of tire wear, driving stability, lap times, etc., mainly based on Wu Shi's subjective feelings.

Only after completing these tasks is Saturday's work truly finished.

Wu Shi returned to the inn, lay on the bed, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.

After all, no one who gets caught up in the WDC competition can take the game lightly.

If he drove relatively relaxed in the previous few stops, then he felt the pressure increase in this stop.

Leading in points.

He closed his eyes. What every driver dreams of is now in his hands. How long can he hold on? Can he hold on until the end of the season?

The next day, the sun shone brightly, sweeping away the gloom of the ranking match. The weather here really does change every day.

The drivers arrived one after another.

Although the people of Monaco may be used to seeing F1 drivers, they still cheered when these figures came out to wave.

Wu Shi and Pan Zi walked into the racetrack together. Their cheers were noticeably quieter, but for a rookie driver in Monaco, having someone cheer for you is already a good thing.

The drivers who arrived earlier were already standing together chatting.

"Can we join you?" Wu Shi asked.

“Oh! Of course, why not?” Alonso smiled broadly.

"Yep, I was just saying, we're both too young, maybe we're not suitable to join the uncles' chat group, hmm." Panzi always managed to tell corny jokes with a straight face, and then laugh at himself afterward.

Having participated in these races, everyone has become quite familiar with each other, not to mention drivers like Pan Zi who come from a racing family and have long been familiar with the industry during their growth.

It's not wrong for him to call these people "uncle," he used to call them that when he was a child.

"Hey, you said yesterday you were planning to overtake me on the track. How are you going to do it? Can you tell me in advance?"

The old man was wearing large sunglasses and holding a large white cup.

"Of course! The race starts, I step on the gas, and then you think you should let the younger guy pass, so you release the gas and let me pass."

As Wu Shi spoke, he gestured with his hands, which made everyone burst into laughter.

Outside of the race, the drivers were quite relaxed.

Once on the open-top bus, the reporters conducted their usual, more relaxed interviews.

However, there are always exceptions. For example, a reporter from who-knows-where said to Rosberg:
“Nico, you’ve started from pole position and won the Grand Prix for the past two years, but this year was a bit of an upset as you only started from third. Do you think you’ll be so lucky today?”

Rosberg was already in a bad mood, and his mistakes in Q2 and Q3 yesterday had put increasing pressure on him.

“I think we encountered some surprises in qualifying. Overtaking on the track in Monaco is not an easy thing. Williams is also very competitive. I think everything will become clear once the race starts.”

The reporter nodded and continued to ask:
"You only have 60 points now, 30 points behind your teammates, and although your team is still in the lead, Williams is only 16 points behind you. What are your plans for this race?"

Rosberg frowned. That was incredibly impolite. He glanced at the spectators lining the windows of the buildings on either side of the track and said:
"I will catch up in points. This is only the sixth game, and the season is far from over."

　There's another chapter, which makes up for yesterday's.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)