F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 219 Left front? Right front!
The following day, the drivers' parade was held as usual before the race. The sun was shining brightly, but there were a few gusts of wind.

Reporters continued to interview the drivers, but these interviews were mostly just casual chats, as the parade was simply a way for the drivers to showcase themselves to fans.

Wu Shi doesn't really like being interviewed, so he leaned against the fence and enjoyed sunbathing.

"Would you like a bottle?" Verstappen walked over and took out a silver jar.

"You've really thought this through."

Wu Shi took it; it was clearly a Red Bull drink without any packaging. If it had packaging, he really wouldn't have been able to drink it directly.

"A special recipe, tastes good." Verstappen picked up a can of silver-blue Oreo milk and drank it himself.

click!
Wu Shi also opened it and took a sip. The taste was indeed somewhat different from the commercially available ones, with a stronger sweet and sour flavor.

"Everyone is still discussing whether to change the F1 racing rules," Pan Zi said.

"You're starting to care about this too?"

"I just think this season's races have been quite exciting. Everyone says Mercedes is dominant, but right now the Williams driver is leading the overall standings," Verstappen said with a sheepish smile.

"No, no, no, I was just lucky." Wu Shi waved his hand.

"You're afraid I'll jinx you? Hey, I wouldn't do that. I just think this year's competition is definitely going to be interesting." Verstappen took another sip of Red Bull.

"Yes, it was indeed quite exciting."

Wu Shi nodded. If it weren't for his interference, Hamilton and Rosberg's lead would be unshakeable now.

Those kinds of matches are indeed boring.

After all, when people talk about the Mercedes dynasty in later generations, most people would find it boring, even though there were some exciting matches interspersed throughout.

But the world champion was decided early on, so there wasn't much to see.

“It won’t change much. You know the risks of refueling.” Wu Shi looked at Pan Zi.

“Yeah, yeah, of course I know.” Verstappen laughed. His father had been burned in 1994.

"I also think there's no need for any changes; the game can continue," Verstappen said, indicating that he wasn't as concerned about the matter as one might expect.

If he can't run F1, he can always try GT racing; he'd actually quite like to.

Wu Shi didn't dwell on this issue; that was a question for Bernie Ecclestone, the head of F1's commercial operations, to consider.

Reporters were unlikely to let Wu Shi off the hook, but they didn't ask him too many difficult questions, which was good.

After the tour ended, Wu Shi returned to Williams' P room.

Jonathan was already prepared and gave further instructions:

"Maintaining second place is our priority, but not our top priority. Based on the practice sessions, we still have a very large gap with Mercedes in the long distances."

"If the actual speeds are indeed very different, then we'll maintain third place."

"You are currently 17 points behind Lewis. Even if you finish on the podium, it will take him at least two more races to overtake you."

"So you absolutely must stay calm!"

Jonathan knew that for a young F1 driver, let alone a world championship, even a single race win could make him lose his mind.

Like Lando Norris, who, when faced with his first title beckoning at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, seemed to lose his composure—

It started raining towards the end of the race, and the team asked Lando to go back and change to wet tires, but Lando refused. He wanted to run to the end on dry tires to maintain his lead and gamble that the rain wouldn't get too heavy.

The team wasn't tough enough, and Lando stayed on the track.

When the rain intensified to the point where the dry tires were almost impossible to drive, Lando slid off the track, his championship dream completely shattered.

In hindsight, the convoy's assessment was correct; based on the cloud and rain map at the time, the probability of the rain intensifying was very high.

Therefore, we should enter the pit, even if it means losing the lead, at least to secure a good position.

But Lando himself was unwilling to accept this. He held the lead and had lost too much of his rationality in the face of the race winner; he just wanted to lead until the end of the race.

This emotional shift is very difficult to change with just a few words.

When faced with exciting situations, everyone is more or less affected by their body's hormones and cannot remain completely calm.

Wu Shi strongly agrees with this statement. Although he appears calm and composed now, his heart suddenly races whenever he thinks of WDC.

An overwhelming sense of excitement and joy seemed to be building up.

So he tries to avoid thinking about it, otherwise it will only affect him.

“I understand. I’m relaxed enough now. Although we’re not as fast as Mercedes, we’re holding our own against Ferrari, which is good news. At least I can focus on dealing with the Mercedes drivers in the front row.”

Wu Shi stated frankly that he did not want Jonathan to need constant psychological counseling, as this would disrupt the crew's work.

"Very good! You don't have much to do, just keep your position on the podium."

Jonathan patted him on the shoulder happily.

Once inside the single-shell unit again, Wu Shi's heart started pounding uncontrollably, though his mind remained clear, knowing that this was just normal nervousness.

Beep beep!!
The survey circle bell rang, and the vehicles began to be released.

There's no need to look at the top ten drivers on the starting grid; they all use supersoft tires. From 15th onwards, except for Vettel, they all use soft tires.

This line of thinking is relatively easy to understand. Vettel definitely wants to get out of the slow cars as soon as possible and return to the front row to compete for a better ranking.

Keep in mind that his current total score is 92, which is not far behind Wu Shi's 119 and Hamilton's 102, so the opportunity is still there.

During the reconnaissance, Wu Shi got a clear picture of the road's grip, which was similar to yesterday's qualifying race, so the situation was as usual.

After all vehicles had completed their reconnaissance and a final check of the situation, two bells rang, and the crew left the site.

The tire warmer was then activated.

The old man's Mercedes twisted and turned in front of him, sometimes slow and sometimes fast.

"Why is his tire warming rhythm different from before?" Wu Shi said in TR.

"Be careful, your brakes are still a bit cold." Jonathan didn't answer this sudden, nonsensical question.

"Copy".

Wu Shi continued to follow behind the old man, but he did not deliberately try to suppress the chariot formation, as this did not help him much.

Instead, Rosberg, who was in third place, lowered his bet, and Kimi followed suit.

Hamilton, a seasoned veteran of the paddock, noticed the situation and immediately slowed down, waiting for the vehicles behind to catch up.

The cleverly designed tire warmer didn't garner much attention from the broadcast; the camera focused on Toto and Sir Williams, respectively.

Clearly, the highlight of this match is the clash between the two Mercedes players and Williams.

"Judging from Toto's eyes, I get the feeling he wants Wu Shi," the soldier said with a chuckle.

"What nonsense are you talking about again?" Fei Ge said, both amused and exasperated.

There are currently no rumors about Wu Shi and Mercedes in the paddock, which is enough to show that the current driver lineup is still stable.

Hamilton parked his car very strategically, with the front of the car angled to the right, trying to block Wu Shi in position number two.

Wu Shi naturally noticed the old man's actions and said in TR, "Hamilton wouldn't have treated me like this at the beginning of the season."

"Yeah, pay attention, the match is about to start." Jonathan sighed. He knew Wu Shi was still nervous, otherwise he wouldn't have said so much.

In fact, Wu Shi's heart would start racing every time the car stopped at the starting grid. He shut his mouth and stared intently at the indicator light.

One,

two,
three,
Four,
Fives.
All the red lights came on, and then went out instantly.

The lights went out very suddenly, and Wu Shi once again reflexively completed all the starting actions.

With the engine speed perfectly matched, the vehicle started moving instantly after the clutch engaged.

He glanced around; 44 was too slow to start!

Tap tap buzz buzz!

The vehicle continuously shifted to higher gears, increasing its speed.

Hamilton was slow to get going! He tried to push Wu Shi inside, but he wasn't fast enough, and the two of them were side by side!

"Wu Shi's acceleration remains strong, widening the gap with Mercedes."

"Turn 1! Will this advantage help Wu Shi overtake on Turn 1?!"

"Oh! They're here!"

Thanks to the smooth start, Wu Shi took the lead by a nose length before the braking zone at Turn 1.

He didn't know why Mercedes was accelerating so slowly today, but it was definitely an opportunity.

Once he surpasses Hamilton, Rosberg and Kimi can fill the vacancy.

He had noticed that Rosberg, annoyed by Hamilton's slow start, had changed lanes behind him.

As they entered the corner, Wu Shi, despite being on the outside, had a faster speed due to the larger angle.

Heh!

Hamilton slightly locked the car, wedging it into the corner, but Wu Shi had already completed the climb.

The next bend is a right bend, and Wu Shi will change from the outside to the inside.

To prevent the old man from taking advantage of the Mercedes' strong cornering stability to overtake, he did not hesitate to veer to the left.

This allows for a sufficiently wide inner cornering space, unlike the old man's No. 1 corner.

However, after the car turned, the old man's direction didn't budge, and it drove straight towards him.

Wu Shi had absolutely no idea what the old man was doing! At this point, the race car should definitely steer to the left!
Is the old man not turning the steering wheel because he wants to cut the watermelon on Bend 2?!
Without any further thought, Mercedes' right front foot had already pierced directly into Williams' left back.

Car number 59 suddenly veered sideways, at which point Hamilton began to swerve to the left, attempting to avoid the spinning Wu Shi.

But the Williams' rear wheel, which was blocking the way, was still spinning, kicking up white smoke.

Bang!
The old man, who had just accelerated to try and cross from the left, bumped into Wu Shi and both of them crashed into the left side of the track.

"What is he doing?! Hey, a top driver, understeered at Turn 1 in dry conditions! ****! ****!"

Wu Shi launched into a tirade of curses.

On the other hand, Hamilton's emotions were stable, but he also said in TR:
"Sorry, I pushed the car! Why was Wu Shi still pressing the accelerator after the accident?!"

The two players' TRs were played one after the other, and the safety car was released simultaneously.

"Ouch! What are we doing?! How did we run into each other!" The soldier slapped his thigh.

"Wait and watch the replay. We'll know what happened then." Fei Ge calmed down a bit.

Before the replay, Wu Shi got up from the car, and Matthew had already run over.

If it were Rosberg, he would probably slam the steering wheel down at this moment, but Wu Shi wouldn't.

On the other side, Hamilton had already climbed out and was walking towards Wu Shi.

Upon seeing this, the broadcaster had no interest in replaying the footage and kept the camera focused directly on the two of them.

"Are they going to fight?! It looks like Wu Shi bumped into Lewis," one audience member thought.

However, Hamilton came over but didn't yell at anyone; he simply asked, "Are you alright?"

"It's alright, nothing's wrong. Are you alright too?" Wu Shi asked.

"Yes, it's nothing." Hamilton nodded and asked, "I'm very sorry about the collision just now. I was too hasty and pushed the car a bit."

"Oh, this collision was too sudden." Wu Shi nodded without saying anything.

Hamilton continued, "You kept the gas pedal pressed at the end?"

"Hmm? I'm not quite clear on the situation at the time." Wu Shi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
“I rarely get into collisions. At the time, I was completely confused about the situation. Looking back now, I just feel like I suddenly spun around and bumped into you.”

Hamilton patted Wu Shi on the back, and the two of them crossed the track barrier together, riding Matthew's scooter back to the pit area.

The extreme restraint displayed by the two surprised many.

“It’s rare to see a championship contender maintain this level of respect for the other driver after an accident,” David said.

The broadcast camera focused on the Mercedes-Benz Arena's P-room, where Toto, who was expected to be angry, showed no signs of losing his temper despite his serious expression.

He was talking to Nikki Lauda, ​​waving one hand incessantly.

Meanwhile, in Williams' P room, the disappointment on everyone's faces was etched into their expressions.

Verstappen TR: "How is Wu Shi?"

Red Bull TR: "YES, ITS OK."

Rosberg TR: "How did they end up crashing?"

The two starters in the front row withdrew from the race, and the expressions of the people on the track varied.

Wu Shi returned to the P room and saw Sir Williams being pushed in his wheelchair.

The elderly founder of the racing team remained serious and said:

“Accidents happen all the time; they are unavoidable in a professional career. I know you have rarely encountered this situation in previous matches, but you cannot be intimidated or defeated by accidents.”

Wu Shi was not offended by the lecture; he simply nodded and said, "Sir, I have not backed down because of this; I just believe that this clash..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jonathan interjected, "We are already communicating with the tournament organizers, and there will be an investigation result regarding this matter."

Dry ground, Turn 1, understeer – this is normal for an average person, but this is Hamilton! A two-time world champion!

Wu Shi noticed that cameras were already following them, and it was clear that everyone wanted to know what was going on.

He sighed, took off his helmet and hood, went back to the rear area to change his clothes, and then came out.

By this time, some people wanted to interview him in advance, but they were stopped by the convoy.

Interviews during the competition are not part of the scheduled program, so they can naturally be declined.

While sitting with the crew to continue watching the race, a mechanic immediately said, "Wu Shi, after the crash you should have immediately engaged the clutch and released the accelerator."

"I'm sorry, I didn't consider all of that at the time."

Wu Shi said, "Are you kidding? Release the accelerator? I wouldn't do that even if the clutch broke!"
If he had released the accelerator, Hamilton would have easily passed him in neutral on the left.

(End of this chapter)