F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 225 An Unexpected Pole Position

After following Rosberg for a while, the broadcast camera switched to Hamilton.

Because Rosberg's performance on this lap was clearly not good; even if he could surpass his own record, he wouldn't be able to surpass Wu Shi's record.

So everyone turned their attention to Hamilton.

Old Man's lap was extremely extreme; Liu Yiquan's nickname comes from his excellent line and almost uncorrectable driving.

After the first two bends, Wu Shi had already sped up slightly.

However, just before Turn 3, the moment Hamilton turned the steering wheel to the right, the entire car suddenly went out of control.

The old man immediately tried to save the car, but the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

In the blink of an eye, after the No. 44 Mercedes swayed left and right, all the front and rear wheels lost traction, and the car instantly slid sideways off the track.

Fortunately, the buffer zone on this curve is large enough, otherwise it would have inevitably caused damage to the vehicle.

If the buffer zone hadn't been large enough, this would have inevitably led to vehicle damage.

"Hamilton has flown out! Will a yellow flag be issued? If a yellow flag is issued, Rosberg is finished!"

The commentators reacted quickly, but before the broadcast camera could even focus on him, Hamilton drove back onto the track, and the yellow flag was removed.

"Rosberg was already in the last corner and wasn't affected, but his time is still not as good as before," the commentator shook his head.

"Both Mercedes drivers have run into problems this time. Does this mean that pole position will fall into Wu Shi's hands?"

There were two minutes left until the end of Q3.

If you really want to run, you can still run again while stepping on the line.

During this time, Wu Shi wanted to go out and run, but the team felt it was unnecessary to take the risk.

“Hamilton has no chance anymore. The huge flat spots on his tires are affecting his lap times, and he won’t be able to make it no matter what,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi nodded. The team had asked him to start early because they were afraid that the drivers behind him might push their limits and make mistakes that would cause a yellow flag, which would then affect Wu Shi.

In retrospect, this decision was the right one.

Wu Shi usually followed behind the old man or the princess at high speed. If he did the same today, he would inevitably be affected by the old man's yellow flag.

In retrospect, the team's decisions based on practice sessions, Q1, and Q2 data were absolutely correct.

“Don’t worry about Rosberg, he’s not feeling well,” Jonathan said.

In F1, a sport where data is crucial, it's difficult to convince people by claiming a subjective bias or poor performance.

However, as a driver, Wu Shi knew the value of those words.

Any sport that pursues the limits and precision is highly dependent on one's state of mind, or in other words, one's feel for the game.

Sometimes, when you're in the zone, you can inexplicably achieve better results.

Even Wu Shi would experience this.

“It seems Rosberg still wants to run away,” Wu Shi said.

Rosberg didn't step onto the field; he was working on the cooling ring.

The clock stopped with one minute and forty seconds remaining, enough time for a cooling cycle to complete.

As long as you cross the finish line and start racing before the timer stops, it counts.

"I'm ready to go for another drive; the tires are in pretty good condition."

Rosberg told the team his thoughts, as last year's winner, he certainly wouldn't give up easily.

“Agreed. The tires are in good condition. There are three cars preparing to make their final dash ahead of you. I will keep an eye on the traffic.”

The track engineer informed Rosberg via TR.

"Copy".

Rosberg took a deep breath to calm himself down.

This leg of the competition is crucial; the difference in points between the top four teams is only one or two legs.

But most importantly, he was only one point behind his teammates.

After turning 9, the car was still a bit overheated, but there wasn't a chance to cool it down for another lap.

Rosberg checked all the vehicle's settings and mentally reviewed the key points of the track.

He is one of the few technically skilled drivers in F1—relying more on data and rational analysis, so the calmer he thinks, the better his results are.

Roar!
The race car roared and began to accelerate.

"Yellow flag! Yellow flag!" At the same moment, Rosberg heard the voice in his headphones.

"WHAT F**K!"

Rosberg seemed to be playing a game of sudden, unexpected stoppage; his carefully cultivated composure exploded in an instant.

"Grosjean went off the track at Turn 4 and into the gravel area," the track engineer explained.

Rosberg angrily demanded, "Wasn't he speeding before? How come he's still on the track?!"

This emotionally charged remark left the Mercedes team speechless, and the track engineer had to remind them:
"Calm down! Nico, calm down, he's doing his first flying lap."

"Yep, yep."

After his outburst of anger, Rosberg realized his mistake.

He has no right to comment on other teams' strategies, and taking advantage of the last minute to speed is something every Q3 driver might do.

However, this is often done by top drivers, whose probability of making a mistake is low, resulting in very few yellow flags in the final stage of Q3 most of the time.

After things calmed down, the Mercedes-Benz TR started playing again:
"Verstappen spun at Turn 10, triggering a yellow flag in three time slots."

Now, Rosberg had nothing to complain about.

Two timing segments and two yellow flags essentially signaled that the qualifying race would end prematurely.

Before Wu Shi could even notice this comical scene, Jonathan's blessing arrived first.

Congratulations! Pole position is yours!

"Um?!"

Before he could thank Jonathan, he was pulled away by the crew members next to him, and soon a group of people surrounded him and tossed him high into the air.

"Wu Shi! Pole position! Wu Shi! Pole position!"

The cheers from the crew members came in waves.

Sir Williams watched from the side, his face barely moving.

Claire smiled and clapped her hands. As a female team leader, she was naturally more reserved in expressing her emotions.

"Congratulations on securing pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix!"

After everyone put Wu Shi down, Sir Williams and Claire came to celebrate together.

"Thank you! It was all thanks to the crew's wise decision." Wu Shi said gratefully.

It was really the crew's quick thinking that saved him this time. It's unimaginable that if he had run with the old man and the princess, he would have been doomed.

After chatting with the crew for a while, press officer Jennifer came over.

"Post-qualifying press conference."

"okay."

This is a routine interview that happens after every qualifying session. Jennifer handed me a piece of paper with the questions reporters might ask and the standard answers.

After quickly reviewing the information, Wu Shi went into the interview room and sat down in the middle.

After a while, Hamilton and Rosberg came over. They walked in front of the camera and wiped their sweat.

A simple white table, with the top three finishers from the qualifying rounds sitting at the back.

Wu Shi in the middle looked very well-behaved, Hamilton was expressionless, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or sad, while Rosberg looked displeased.

After the three men were seated and made a starting gesture, the reporter asked Rosberg:
"Your second flying lap seems similar to your first flying lap. Did you encounter any problems?"

Rosberg fiddled with the microphone and said:

"YES, I slipped a bit, and I wasn't sure if I could run well, so I didn't increase my speed. I wanted to save my chance for the third flying lap."

"Unfortunately, the yellow flag interrupted everything in the end."

The reporter nodded, looked at Hamilton, and asked:

"Lewis, it's a real shame. You could have improved your time on the third flying lap, but it was ruined."

"Yes, the track conditions are better. I misjudged the situation. In fact, the better conditions aren't that much better."

Hamilton shrugged as he spoke, saying it was a very unfortunate lap.

"It's a real shame, but getting second place is still a good result." The reporter's words made the old man's face darken. Wu Shi had just wanted to chuckle, but what was a good second place for others was nothing to celebrate for the old man at this moment.

Before he could even smile, the reporter looked at him, causing him to immediately control his facial expression.

"Hi, Wu Shi, congratulations on achieving pole position again! Before this competition started, I remember you weren't optimistic, and the media's assessment of you wasn't optimistic either."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shi immediately thought of B*C, raised an eyebrow, and said:

"Well, of course, as B*C said, it's not very optimistic, but what they said was too harsh, so I think I have to use my results to refute them and prove that they are all a bunch of good-for-nothings who always make wrong opinions and conclusions."

Wu Shi's unwavering retort left Jennifer, who was watching off-camera, speechless and facepalming. Why did he suddenly explode like that?
The reporter was also confused by this statement, because there were B*C personnel recording the interview behind him.

Seeing the cameraman hesitate to speak, Wu Shi was very happy. This guy not only smeared himself, but also always smeared the motherland. He would definitely take the opportunity to ridicule him severely.

"Massa also achieved a respectable fifth place today. Does this indicate that Williams' competitiveness has improved?" the reporter continued to ask.

“I don’t think so. It’s obvious that Lewis and Nico made mistakes, which gave me this opportunity,” Wu Shi said seriously.

The reporter then turned to the two players: "Currently, the two are only one point apart in points, making this Grand Prix crucial."

“Yes, it’s crucial, I’ll hold onto my front row starting position,” Hamilton responded immediately.

"Hold on?" Rosberg didn't answer the reporter's question, but instead asked Hamilton in return.

The old man immediately realized there was a problem with what he had said, and he continued without any expression:
"Yes, holding your position before attacking is the standard a driver should have."

Rosberg's face darkened. Wasn't this a veiled insult, implying that he had given Wu Shi the gift while pursuing Hamilton?!

The two were very angry during their fight. Wu Shi, sitting in the middle, seemed a little scared and deliberately leaned back to make room.

His innocent and unrelated expression made the reporter find it somewhat amusing.

With the rivalry between the two Mercedes-Benz clubs, reporters are naturally eager to dig up the inside story.

Wu Shi listened from the side.

However, Hamilton and Rosberg are both veterans of the paddock, and after being tricked, they are careful to manage their language, so they basically don't let reporters miss any big gossip.

After the post-qualifying press conference, Wu Shi, who once again secured pole position, became the front-page headline of F1.

Most media outlets praised it, except for the British media, which called it an "unexpected pole position."

Domestic media outlets have also reported on Wu Shi's return to pole position.

The cover photo used in the news article was of Wu Shi sitting innocently in the middle, with the old man and Rosberg looking at each other and arguing.

Many netizens exclaimed after watching, "This is hilarious! Poor Wu Shi is stuck between the two of them."

The real competition begins only after the qualifying rounds are over.

The Red Bull Ring is a track full of overtaking opportunities, so PTW's chances are probably slim.

Wu Shi was well aware of this, and jokingly remarked at a team meeting, "Could I possibly become the driver with the most pole positions and the fewest PTWs?"

The previously tense atmosphere eased slightly.

Jonathan has always been a practitioner of a relaxed mindset; he doesn't believe that putting endless pressure on drivers will yield good results.

He believes that drivers who maintain a normal mindset are more likely to achieve the best results.

So he followed up on Wu Shi's teasing remark:
"You have become the youngest driver with the most pole positions and the fewest PTWs."

Everyone chuckled, and Rodrigo relaxed his approach to the subsequent strategy slightly.

"The temperature will rise slightly tomorrow, but it will still be very low, so the wear and tear on the tires will not be too great."

"We are still considering a one-stop solution, with the window of opportunity likely between laps 32 and 37."

Being able to run 40 laps on supersoft tires that have already been used is enough to prove that the pressure on the tires in the main race is indeed quite small.

"The key question now is how do we hold our position, or rather, should we choose to be an early entrant or a latecomer?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Shi immediately said, "Mercedes-Benz's strategy is more inclined to let the first train arrive at the station first."

The train in front enters the station first to avoid being undercut by the train behind, which is undoubtedly very important.

Some people hesitated. If the lead car went to the station first, would it be overcut by Mercedes-Benz?
Mercedes' speed in clean air is much better than Williams', which is a major concern for many.

Everyone silently compared the data until finally, Rodrigo spoke:
"Our strategy team advised us to enter the station later to avoid being overcut."

“Okay, then the strategy remains basically unchanged: ultra-soft, soft stop.” Claire made the decision immediately.
Once the basic strategy is established, the strategy team begins to study various strategies based on it, as well as plans for handling incidents.

Don't be fooled by the Red Bull Ring's simplicity; it has a relatively high accident rate.

“We predict there is a greater than 70% chance of a yellow flag tomorrow, which means the probability is very high,” Rodrigo said, pulling out the data report.

Based on data from the strategy group, the discussion continues.

After the main meeting, there was a smaller meeting.

The meeting finally ended at 6:30 p.m.

Wu Shi was able to relax a bit, and Verstappen had just finished his meeting.

Panzi takes these meetings very seriously. Despite his sometimes goofy demeanor, he's a first-rate expert when it comes to studying strategies and rules.

"Stop tomorrow?" Pan Zi asked without any hesitation.

"Are you planning to suspend operations for the second time?" Wu Shi asked rhetorically.

"Of course not, which lap are you planning to pit on?"

“Yes, lap 70,” Wu Shi replied.

"Hahaha." Pan Zi laughed and patted Wu Shi a few times, then said somewhat seriously:
“Before Turn 5, there are plenty of good places to overtake,” Pan Zi said.

“Yes, I know.” Wu Shi nodded.

Panzi didn't stop. He walked to a random spot where the track map was pasted and began to explain.

In the second year since Red Bull Ring's return, people know very little about it—except for Red Bull itself.

Pan Zi's abilities overshadowed his background as a second-generation driver. At this point, if anyone could obtain more track data, it would undoubtedly be these Red Bull people.

Wu Shi listened attentively. After all, the Red Bull Ring is very different from what it was in the 1920s, and some of the "ingenious" aspects of the races in certain places still need to be explained by locals.

The two had only been chatting for a while when Brother Tou suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Seeing two young men discussing the track, he enthusiastically joined the discussion.

Unfortunately, the track's return dates back to the beginning of this century, to the era of racing legends.

Brother Tou still remembers the scene when Schumacher won the Austrian Grand Prix in 2003.

He smiled; a new batch of top drivers had emerged in the paddock.

Talented people emerge in every generation!

He didn't mind giving these younger people pointers; in his view, there was no such thing as a master starving his apprentice.

As he gets older, and after a year of wasting time at McLaren, it's uncertain whether he'll ever have the chance to sit in a championship-contending car again.

Putting his feelings aside, Brother Tou began to share his understanding of this track.

The 2003 Red Bull Ring and the 2015 Red Bull Ring are two different things.

However, Brother Tou had run this course last year, and with his rich experience, he still has a unique understanding of the track.

Track understanding is a very mysterious thing, just like the car feel of an ordinary person.

Without guidance, it's easy to be hindered by habitual thinking and fail to fully understand the track.

"I benefited greatly."

Wu Shi sincerely said that with his superb driving skills, he was able to perform at his absolute limit—

But this limit is based on his understanding of the track; the deeper the understanding, the more extreme the limit will be.

Tou Ge's understanding of turns 2, 4, and 6 is different from his.

For example, he believes that Turn 2, this extremely fast left-hand turn, does not need to be marked separately.

However, Brother Tou believes that turns 2 and 3 are a combination of turns.

Because the timing and speed of entering Turn 2 directly affect the state of entering Turn 3.

However, Turn 2 is a high-speed turn, so there are many details to consider.

By comparing the small details on the track, drivers need to carefully consider when to position their cars.

The three finished their discussion at around 8 p.m.

Wu Shi recalled the advice given by his mentor and decided to try it on the simulator.

Unfortunately, this was a high-end custom simulator for the racing team. If it had internet access, he was sure Panzi would have logged in too.

(End of this chapter)