F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 215 Strategy & Unexpected Events
After the drivers' parade, the drivers returned to the pit area.

Jonathan showed Wu Shi the weather forecast for the day:

"Air temperature 18℃, track temperature 37℃, wind speed 1.1m/s, humidity 61%."

The cool temperatures are great for fans who come to watch the race on vacation, but for drivers, the lack of temperature may lead to a loss of grip on the first lap.

Jonathan patted Wu Shi on the shoulder and said, "Just bring him back steadily. This year is your rookie year, and your achievements are already outstanding. Safety is the most important thing. There will be many more opportunities."

"Ah."

Wu Shi nodded, but in his heart he thought, "It's precisely because this is the rookie year that I'm even more eager to win the WDC!"
That's why they're going all out for the WDC!

Many drivers never get such an opportunity in their entire lives in the paddock, so why would he listen to Jonathan?

After Wu Shi was seated in the car, an engineer asked Jonathan, "Why did you say that? It's discouraging him."

Jonathan glanced at it and said:

"Whether I say it or not, his enthusiasm won't change, otherwise he wouldn't be Wu Shi. But that's precisely why I need to tell him that safety is the most important thing. He's still young, and his career is far from over."

With a buzzing sound, the survey began.

The road conditions today are indeed much better than yesterday. At least Wu Shi can feel that the humidity is lower and the grip is better than yesterday.

The newly laid asphalt will still cause differences in grip between different sections of the race, something he had already paid extra attention to yesterday.

According to data collected by the survey team, the regional differences in grip strength have not changed much from yesterday.

After stopping at the starting grid, the mechanics quickly came over to wrap the car with tire warming blankets and opened a sunshade for Wu Shi inside the car.

Monaco is one of the few stations that does not hold pre-race procedures, so the drivers do not need to be called over to stand in a row.

As the bell rang, all staff members left the area, and the tire warmer was prepared.

“Wu Shi, Rosberg’s left tire has obvious flat spots, which should be caused by his locking up yesterday.”

"The top ten all used ultrasoft tires."

After Jonathan finished speaking, the tire warmer alarm rang, Hamilton started very quickly, while Wu Shi was a little slower.

While the drivers were warming up their tires, the broadcast showed the scores of each driver and team.

Upon seeing this, the soldier chimed in, "Look at these scores! Wu Shi is in first place with 94 points! This is truly unprecedented!"

"Yeah, it's a pity it's not in Chinese, otherwise it would be more comfortable to read," Fei Ge replied with a smile.

"Rosberg has fallen behind the front row, and with a 30-point gap, catching up is both easy and difficult," the soldier pointed out on this issue.

"Rosberg's form this year has been terrible. Last year he was evenly matched with Hamilton, but so far this year, the situation is not optimistic," Fei Ge analyzed.

"Just now during the drivers' parade, there was a reporter who just had to bring up a sore spot, and Rosberg looked really upset."

"That reporter was being unfair, creating tension during the parade, which is not what car fans want to see."

"Mercedes' cars are still dominant this year, but they don't have a clear lead in the overall standings," Bing Ge said, turning his head again.

"Yes, Williams is only 16 points behind, which is still a very small gap, but it's unlikely that he will be overtaken today," Fei Ge mentioned.

"Hey, what's wrong with Massa? Starting 15th on the grid, whether he can score points or not depends on the specific race."

"What do you think Tottenham will do if Mercedes is overtaken by Williams or Ferrari?" the soldier asked.

"Let's keep bringing water, what should we do?"

"Hahaha! Is Toto really that kind of person, that incapable of being ruthless?"

While the two were chatting, the drivers had finished warming up their tires and were in their positions.

"The grip on the ground is excellent, it's drier and warmer, and the asphalt feels much better than yesterday," Wu Shi told Jonathan in TR.

“Okay, that’s great news,” Jonathan replied.

Wu Shi stopped at the first starting grid on the left, briefly stretched out his arms, and tried to twist his neck, but was unable to move easily due to the support.

The drivers behind were a bit slow to get into position, which was intentionally done to let the tires of the drivers in the front cool down.

"Final countdown, get ready to start the match," Jonathan reminded in TR.

Wu Shi looked up, his eyes fixed on the indicator light.

As the red lights came on one after another, and all five lights were on, the hearts of all the drivers jumped.

But the red light stayed on for a long time.

This long waiting time can easily cause drivers to start late, but Wu Shi bites his tongue whenever his attention is about to wander.

Actually, this wasn't a proper way to stay alert; he was just reminding himself that he had once lost focus and made a mistake while starting the car because of a long wait.

Now, he will never repeat this mistake!

Swish!
Suddenly the red light went out, and the race began!
Hamilton reacted quickly, but Wu Shi was even better, and the clutch shifts were extremely smooth, making the most of every speed and maintaining the most suitable torque and speed output.

Buzz!
Wu Shi followed closely behind Hamilton, relying on his divine start, and just as he was about to place the front wing where the old man's rear wheel was, he braked.

This isn't a place to test your braking ability. Hamilton starts first on the right, so he's on the inside and can enter Turn 1 the fastest.

Of course, this is only one reason. Rosberg also followed him, and because he was inside, he was able to get closer to him even faster.

At this point, the opportunity to attack Hamilton had clearly been lost.

Wu Shi could only stay as close to Hamilton as possible, which made Rosberg's position on the inside very narrow, forcing him to slow down to get through Turn 1 from the inside.

Further back, the two Red Bulls were locked in a fierce battle, with Ricciardo nearly losing control halfway through the race and almost managing a clean sweep.

Fortunately, he managed to control the vehicle.

Rustling sound!
At Turn 1, the positions of the first six cars remained unchanged.

Wow! Wu Shi was just a little short!

"But Rosberg in the back is pretty fierce too!"

Swish!

One car after another sped by.

If overtaking wasn't successful at the start, it's even less likely now.

The winding, one-way two-lane road offers almost no opportunity to overtake.

Just as we entered Turn 8, Jonathan's voice came through the radio:
"Hulkenberg went off the track at Turn 5 and crashed into the wall. His front wing fell off, and it's uncertain whether the car can move. Be careful."

Similar to this TR (Training Manager) message, each driver is informed by their track engineer at the same time.

The drivers all understood what this meant; if a yellow flag was triggered, they would likely have to pit.

It's hard to say about the front row; if the drivers don't keep their distance, they're likely to lose their positions when they pit. The drivers in the back row will definitely have to pit and try their luck.

Massa TR: "The front wing is damaged and almost unusable. It needs to be pitted for a front wing replacement."

He was affected by Hulkenberg.

Alonso later commented on TR: "I had a collision with him, and the car's suspension seems to have been damaged."

He collided directly with Hulkenberg, causing Hulkenberg to be pushed off the track.

Jonathan then informed Wu Shi of the situation and said:

"Yellow flag for the second timing period. Hulkenberg's car is able to move. His front wing left at Turn 5 was picked up by Matthew."

As the vehicles started moving, the drivers' second differences widened.

In street racing, you can't follow too closely, otherwise if the car in front suddenly brakes, it will most likely cause a rear-end collision.

After that, Hulkenberg and Massa both pitted to change their front wings; the former also changed his soft tires to supersoft tires, while the latter changed his supersoft tires to soft tires.

There are still 77 laps left in the race, and it's uncertain whether they can finish.

On lap 2, without the yellow flag for timing, Hamilton set a time of 1 minute 20.852 seconds, while Wu Shi was slightly slower and had already fallen more than 1 second behind.

Rosberg was pulled away by him for almost a second.

It's fair to say that from the very beginning, the front-row drivers never intended to follow the cars. Following them meant breathing in polluted air, wearing out tires, ruining their engines, and still not being able to overtake – it was all pointless.

At this moment, Bottas's communication with the team caught Toro Rosso's attention.

Bottas's car seems to have encountered some problems.

Little Red Bull immediately notified Verstappen via TR:

“Bottas reported some problems with his car and his lap times were getting slower. This is your chance, you should try to overtake.”

The camera then focused on Verstappen, who was following very closely, and his front wing almost hit Bottas's rear wheel several times, which was quite dangerous.

This was also Pan Zi's first time running on such a complex track in Monaco.

On lap six, the investigation into Alonso came to light, resulting in a 5-second penalty.

Meanwhile, at Turn 1, Verstappen narrowly passed Bottas.

However, on lap 8, Bottas retired from the race due to brake failure.

F1 brakes now rely on a hydraulic system. If one part malfunctions, it will affect the entire system, so the only option is to retire from the race.

On lap 10, Jonathan TR reported: "Lewis said his right front tire temperature wouldn't rise."

“Oh, his lap time has slowed down a lot?” Wu Shi returned.

“No, I was just telling you he might run into problems,” Jonathan said.

“I don’t believe what he said in TR,” Wu Shi said directly.

This clip was immediately rebroadcast, and the commentators who heard it burst into laughter.

"Wu Shi said he didn't believe what Lewis said on TR, hahaha, was he scammed by TR before?"

"There shouldn't be any this year. Did it happen before?"

"Before? He was still in F3, but he said he would watch past races to learn how to drive. Maybe he watched too many races and came to this conclusion."

"Hahaha! You're right."

Wu Shi's TR brought some joy to the otherwise dull competition.

Entering lap 12, the broadcast cameras switched to first-person perspective to give viewers some exciting moments, otherwise the race would really become boring.

Sainz's final stop in the pit went unnoticed.

At the end of lap 14, Eriksen pitted, switching from an oversoft to a softer car. He was already ranked low and didn't attract much attention.

At the end of lap 17, Grosjean pitted, also switching from the supersoft to the soft.

At the end of lap 18, Nasr pitted, switching from the supersoft to the soft.

I thought it would be a rush of cars entering the station, but only three cars entered, and then the cars ahead remained steady.

At the same time, the old man set a time of 1 minute 20.036 seconds, which is enough to show that the tires of the vehicles in front were in good condition.

Upon hearing Jonathan's report, Wu Shi immediately commented in TR: "See, he's fine."

After saying that, he kept the time difference at 2 seconds.

By this time, blue flags were being waved continuously on the track, and the front-row drivers were starting to lap the cars.

Wu Shi's first pass was to his teammate Massa, and the director specially broadcast this scene.

Who says the director at Monaco is bad? At least he knows how to capture some interesting shots, he just can't capture the best ones.

After a few laps, on the 22nd lap, the old man set a new fastest lap time of 1 minute 19.835 seconds, seemingly trying to pull away from Wu Shi.

Jonathan TR: "Don't get too close." Wu Shi TR: "Copy."

He can make the car go very fast, but it will wear out the tires a lot and may even damage the suspension, so there's no need to push himself too hard. Anyway, Rosberg isn't fast and doesn't pose a threat to him.

By lap 25, the old man had started lapping the laps like crazy.

Most teams have given up on waiting for the yellow flag and have begun organizing pit stops to change tires.

At the end of lap 28, Kvyat pitted and switched from supersoft to soft.

Verstappen pitted on lap 29, and upon exiting the pits, he encountered Hamilton, who was trying to lap him.

The huge difference in lap times between the front and rear rows meant that cars were running on every section of the track, which gave the spectators watching the race on both sides a real treat.

On lap 36, Vettel pitted, and Jonathan noticed.

With the fourth person entering the station, the situation in the front row is about to change.

Rosberg wouldn't wait long; fearing Vettel's undercut, he went in on lap 37.

Kimi also pitted on the same lap.

When the three people exited the station, their positions remained unchanged.

"BOX, BOX."

At the end of lap 38, Wu Shi immediately entered the station.

Only after Wu Shi entered the station did Hamilton dare to enter the next lap.

The driver's position in the front row remained unchanged.

"It seems this match is about to end like this," the soldier said.

After more than thirty laps on the first stint, it was clear that the second set of tires was intended to be used for the entire run.

"Hey, what's the highlight of Monaco every year?" Fei asked.

"I dare not answer that question," the soldier said with a smile, shaking his head.

Actually, there's nothing they're afraid to say. After all, talking about it domestically won't have any impact. It's just that after Han Han said "Weber is a contradiction" when he was a commentator in 07, they've become very careful about these issues.

After the new soft tires were installed, the front row speed returned to around 1 minute and 20 seconds.

"It looks like there won't be a safety car in this race."

"There shouldn't be any more accidents. Everyone is staying at a very safe distance, so it's highly unlikely that an accident will occur."

"Unexpectedly, Monaco only had a few yellow flags at the beginning this year, and Bottas is the only one injured so far!"

"Bottas has had some bad luck this year," the soldier said, but didn't quite explain how.

On lap 42, the drivers were still running normally.

"There haven't been any overtaking moments throughout the entire race, have there?"

"Yes, there is. Verstappen has surpassed Bottas."

"Look, Bottas is the one who's really unlucky."

As the two were talking, Alonso drove into Turn 1, triggering a brief yellow flag in the first time slot.

"What happened?!"

"Oh! A gearbox problem."

"The same problem exists in qualifying. It seems Alonso is also unlucky, having only completed two races so far."

By lap 45, Hamilton was already 8 seconds ahead of Wu Shi.

"Was Verstappen suspended for the second time?"

"Yes, it's been suspended twice."

By lap 54, the gap had widened to 10 seconds.

By lap 63, the time difference between Wu Shi and Hamilton had widened to 14 seconds.

Rosberg was chasing closely, keeping the gap at around 1.5 seconds, but it was no use; he couldn't overtake him at all.

"The game is really about to end."

The soldier shook his head and started chatting with Fei about all sorts of gossip.

Unless an accident occurs, there will be no change in position.

The camera focused on Verstappen, who, despite having switched to the new supersoft tires, found himself outside the points zone.

However, his tires were much newer than Grosjean's, and he was very close and preparing to overtake.

"I didn't expect that Verstappen would be responsible for both of the only two overtaking moments in this race," Bingge remarked.

"Young people are so energetic, keeping up so closely, they won't give up until they surpass them."

"But in Monaco, you can't follow too closely."

As they were talking, on lap 64, Verstappen activated his DRS on the long straight and once again sped up to close the distance to Grosjean.

Before the braking zone, Grosjean braked first. Verstappen, unable to react in time, swerved to the right but failed, and his left front wheel collided directly with Grosjean's rear wheel.

Bang! Click!
Tsk tsk tsk! ! !
The No. 33 Toro Rosso, having lost its left front wheel, slid all the way to the guardrail at Turn 1.

"Ouch!! We've crashed!"

"I told you not to get that close! Young man!" Fei shook his head.

Upon hearing the news on TR, Wu Shi immediately asked, "Is Verstappen alright?"

Jonathan TR: "Yes, it's okay."

“Okay.” Wu Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

Jonathan TR: "Virtual safety car, please observe the speed limit."

"Copy".

The virtual safety car, which took 64 laps to arrive, was essentially meaningless.

After 65 laps, the actual safety car came out.

"Only 13 laps left, will the front row have any ideas?" the soldier asked.

"They all pitted to change tires, so it was going to be a 13-lap sprint."

"Unlikely. Although Hamilton's lap time has dropped significantly, he will definitely wait for the next move."

Wu Shi TR: "My tires are pretty good, maybe I can launch an attack."

With the safety car providing cover, he can quickly close the gap with Hamilton.

The old man had been accelerating, and the tires of the two vehicles were very different.

“Yes, you can. According to our predictions, you can catch up after accelerating, and you'll have three laps to launch an attack,” Jonathan replied immediately.

The two players' TR (traffic) was naturally broadcast, which made the commentators applaud.

"It's really coming! Wu Shi's pursuit ability is beyond doubt. I thought we had no chance, but I didn't expect our last chance to come!"

Before the front row had even made a move, the drivers in the back row had already started pitting to change tires.

Bono TR: "BOX, BOX."

Hamilton TR: "Copy".

"Oh! Hamilton is about to arrive."

"Wu Shi should follow along, right?"

Everyone stared intently at the screen, only to see Wu Shi drive straight through the repair area.

"He didn't come in!"

Differences in strategy have emerged.

At this point, Mercedes encountered some problems while changing tires, taking a full 6.1 seconds.

Jonathan TR: "Push, push, Lewis is slow changing the tire! He's way too slow!"

At Turn 1, Verstappen's car was being lifted, while the safety car was leading the pack. Wu Shi was pushing the limits, barely avoiding a penalty.

After Turn 1, Hamilton, who is coming out of the pit lane, must drive along the inside lane separated by the yellow line until he reaches the outside of the yellow line.

"Whoa!!! Hamilton fell behind!"

At first, the soldier was blocked by the security vehicle and hadn't even reacted yet. But after the security vehicle turned the corner and he saw the situation clearly, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

A little behind the three cars—a white Williams, a silver Mercedes, and a red Ferrari—came another silver Mercedes!
Hamilton came out and was almost alongside Vettel, but was still behind and unable to overtake.

Vettel squeezed to the front.

On the downhill straight road, Vettel's car swerved wildly from side to side.

"Haha! Watt is very happy!" the soldier laughed.

"Why did Mercedes recall Hamilton?" Fei Ge exclaimed.

"It's probably related to the tires."

"No matter how much it's related to the tires, you can't do this! Are you trying to overtake three cars in the next 10 laps?!" Fei Ge raised his voice.

"Mercedes-Benz's strategy was absolutely flawed."

After the soldier said that, the broadcast camera focused on Nikki Lauda in the P room.

The safety car led the way to lap 68 and began to untangle itself.

8、9、12、19、27、28、55、77、98九辆车开始从后方超越安全车。

“There’s still debris at Turn 1, and the safety car will still be leading the way. You need to check if the crash barriers have been restored,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi had just passed Turn 1 and hadn't noticed the situation there, so he could only say, "I'll be more careful on the next lap."

Bono TR: "There was a calculation error in what just happened, and we are looking for the cause."

Hamilton TR: "Did we really need to pit just now? Vettel overtook me after I left the pit, and he should have given up his position."

Bono TR: "We are keeping an eye on this."

After several TR segments, the race was interrupted on lap 70, at which point the safety car's roof lights went out.

Wu Shi immediately reduced his speed, squeezing the cars behind him into a tight group, and then after a moment, suddenly accelerated.

The tires are too cold! The brakes are too cold!
The situation was extremely dangerous, especially in a place like Monaco.

His attention was completely focused, and after passing Turn 19, the engine roared to life.

“Seven laps to go, Rosberg has locked up behind you,” Jonathan reminded him.

Wu Shi completely ignored Rosberg; he was fully focused on the car and, after just a few turns, he had pulled ahead of Rosberg, whose tires were worn out, by a second.

"It's stable?! It's stable?!" Jonathan clenched his fists, feeling his heart pounding as if it were about to leap out of his chest.

After creating a gap between the two cars, the broadcast camera focused directly on Vettel and Hamilton.

Even the director believed that the battle for first and second place was over, and the most crucial moment was the battle for the podium.

(End of this chapter)