F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 226 Tire Change Mishap
The following day, the main competition began on time.

Before the race, both Red Bull drivers were penalized ten places for switching to their fifth engine.

Like Button, Alonso was penalized 25 places for using the fifth set of accelerators, MGU-H, engine, and gearbox.

Honda and Renault are truly in the same boat this year.

Alonso and Button were penalized for not having enough space, so they must serve a 10-second pit stop penalty for the first three laps.

Kvyat was in a good position to be penalized, so he was penalized directly. Riccardo wasn't, and he ended up with a 5-second penalty.

Before they even started playing, Red Bull had already lost halfway at home.

The task of restoring Red Bull's glory fell to Little Red Bull.

The Austrian sky remained overcast, with an air temperature of 14°C and a track temperature of 27°C, making it a definitely cold track.

A wind speed of 5 km/h has little impact on vehicles.

With a humidity level of 48%, the probability of rain seems low.

After surveying the area, Wu Shi got out of the car and still felt a bit cold, so he put on a jacket over his racing suit.

He looked towards the main stands, which were not yet full.

"There are so few people," Wu Shi said to Jonathan.

"Yes."

Jonathan looked towards the stands and saw that F1 spectators were steadily leaving, with a large portion of them finding hybrid engines uninteresting.

Car enthusiasts long to return to the era of naturally aspirated V8 or even V10 engines.

However, reforming F1 is not simply about engines or refueling; it is a complex and comprehensive issue.

The points that the audience considers are just one point that the FIA ​​needs to consider.

Jonathan shook his head. He'd been led astray by Wu Shi. The competition was about to start, and he was still lost in thought.

He immediately said to Wu Shi:

"Focus on the race. The pole position here is different from Monaco. You may face a tough battle."

Wu Shi pursed his lips, staring blankly at the stands, without replying.

Of the 27 pole positions on this track, only seven have resulted in a victory.

Turns 1-4 are easy to attack from anywhere, but the first few laps might be extremely difficult.

"Don't be nervous. Remember, we've already made a profit. Just focus on the competition and do your best," Jonathan said with a friendly smile.

"Ok!"

When the bell rang, Wu Shi took off his jacket, put on his racing suit, and donned his helmet.

It was a bit cool at first, but once I got into the car, it was just stuffy and hot.

As the warm-up period drew to a close, the vehicle was started, and the engine roared to life.

Because Kvyat was ejected from the top ten, Bottas stepped up to fill the void.

This resulted in him being the only one using soft tires in the first ten miles of the starting grid.

The rest of the cars were on super soft tires.

The bell rang, and Wu Shi set off.

This time, without anyone reminding him, he knew that pole position was his and that he would lead everyone on the warm-up lap.

The track temperature was too low, so I had to adjust the braking ratio and then frantically warm up the tires by turning them left and right.

"Watch out, the vehicles behind you are too far away," Jonathan warned.

Wu Shi glanced at the rearview mirror; the old man was pressing down on the car.

So he slowed down, and only when the old man got closer did he increase his speed and arrive at the starting grid.

The pole position rider starts in the first row on the left.

Yesterday, Brother Tou suggested that Wu Shi turn the car at a small angle.

If you get off to a fast start, take the center line into the corner; if you're slow, move back to the outside line to conserve your energy.

The sound of engines roared from behind; it was the rear drivers using the last bit of distance to accelerate and brake suddenly to warm up the tires.

Waiting in the first place for the game to start is always anxious.

In a daze, Jonathan's voice rang out: "Get ready to depart."

Wu Shi's heart suddenly started racing, and he felt his brain getting congested with blood.

Looking up, I saw that the first red light was already on.

Then came the second and fifth lamps.

All five lights are on.

In less than half a second,

Swish!
With all five red lights off, the Grand Prix officially begins!
The moment Wu Shi started, the force exerted was so ingrained in his DNA that he didn't need to think at all.

Buzzing!
Just as they had driven ten car lengths, Jonathan's voice rang out:
"There was a yellow flag behind us, but it did not affect the game."

Wu Shi glanced at the rearview mirror subconsciously.

Ok?
Where is the old man?
He didn't have time to think and immediately moved to the center line.

Having no idea what was happening behind him, he immediately put aside all other thoughts and charged into Turn 1.

It was only then that he realized Hamilton had started too slowly and was now alongside Rosberg, who started third.

Because the space was compressed, the old man had a very difficult time going around the corner and had to brake hard, which allowed Rosberg to overtake him.

"Wow! Wu Shi has maintained his lead, Hamilton got off to a slow start!"
"At Turn 1, he was overtaken by Rosberg, and Vettel behind him couldn't find an opportunity and could only wait for his chance."
Hamilton exits the corner faster! He's going to catch Rosberg!

"At Turn 2, he's locked up! Hamilton misjudged again, no chance left! Rosberg overtook him!"

The commentators rattled off a string of rapid-fire comments, focusing on the second and third-ranked commentators.

“Good, there’s fighting behind us, you can create some distance,” Jonathan told Wu Shi.

"What's the situation with the yellow flag we mentioned earlier?" Wu Shi asked.

"Bottas encountered some technical problems at the start, but it didn't fail, so the yellow flag was canceled," Jonathan responded.

After obtaining the information he needed, Wu Shi immediately focused his attention on the racetrack.

The two Mercedes behind him had fallen three car lengths behind due to their competition.

At Turn 3, Wu Shi had just finished exiting the turn when Jonathan's voice rang out again:
"Yellow flag for the second timeout, yellow flag for the second timeout, Alonso and Kimi have collided."
"The collision was serious, and they should be unable to continue the race. The yellow flag may be converted to a safety car."

Jonathan had barely finished speaking when he immediately added, "The safety car is out."

"Copy, are they alright?"

Wu Shi asked, "Brother Tou was sharing his experience yesterday, so why did he suddenly criticize you today?"
“They’re okay,” Jonathan said.

"Okay, my distance has been shortened." Wu Shi said with some regret.

“Yes, but Rosberg is following behind you,” Jonathan said.

"Hamilton has been surpassed?"

“Yes, so Rosberg is behind you now,” Jonathan emphasized again.

"Huh? What does Engineer Wu Shi mean by that?"

The soldier asked in a questioning tone, though he already had an answer in mind.

Fei Ge immediately said, "I guess they think Rosberg's offensive ability is not as good as Hamilton's, so they don't want to put too much pressure on him?"

"Hahaha! You're slandering him. Rosberg is still leading the standings!" the soldier immediately laughed.

The two men have already conveyed Jonathan's meaning: Rosberg is weaker offensively than Hamilton.

This may be the difference between those who rely on technical skill and those who are gifted.

When faced with complex overtaking situations, those with technical skills may appear somewhat clueless and at a loss without sufficient data support.

Those with natural talent can immediately react to what needs to be done.

The broadcast cameras quickly moved to the scene of the accident.

Alonso's McLaren was seen riding on Kimi's Ferrari.

"This is extremely dangerous!" the soldier said seriously upon seeing it.

"Yes, right now only the driver's head is exposed. If a vehicle crashes into him, it could easily cause a major disaster!"

"Fortunately, neither of them is hurt. Last year, Bianchi almost lost his life because he lacked head protection," Fei said.

"I remember Wu Shi suggested adding a crash barrier to the cockpit afterwards," the soldier mentioned.

"Yes, but it seems the FIA ​​has not discussed this further at the moment."

After Kimi and TouGe got out of the car, they patted each other on the back and walked side by side off the track.

Kvyat also sustained damage and had its nose and tires replaced at the pits.

Wu Shi followed closely behind the safety car, while Rosberg behind him slowed down again.

“The safety car will take longer; Stevens’ vehicle stopped in the buffer zone,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi took a few deep breaths, waiting for the safety vehicle to withdraw.

At this point, the broadcast cameras began replaying footage of the accident and the vehicle's departure.

"Wu Shi got off to a great start this time; he pulled away from Hamilton as soon as the car started moving."

"Isn't that because Hamilton is slow to start?"

"Relatively speaking, Hamilton has a slow start, while Wu Shi has a fast start, so the slower the start, the faster the start." The soldier started circling around.

On the straight, Hamilton tried to squeeze Rosberg, who was in third place, in order to hold onto second place.

This further widened the distance between Wu Shi, who was in the front row.

"Wu Shi suffered a loss with this safety vehicle," the soldier commented.

Jonathan kept talking to Wu Shi about the track conditions and reminding him of the vehicle settings.

"Button pitted to change tires, and he was unable to execute the penalty while in safety car condition."

On the fourth lap, Wu Shi turned the corner and saw the abandoned Ferrari still parked on the lawn.

On lap 6, the safety car indicated that it was about to leave.

Seeing that the overhead light had gone out, Wu Shi knew it was time to test the dynamic start!

He swayed the vehicle left and right twice, without compressing the traffic formation at all.

At this point, some drivers will perform a start test to induce violations by the cars behind them.

Wu Shi wouldn't do something so dangerous; he simply slowed down slightly and, when Rosberg was close to braking, floored the accelerator to pull away.

Because he had just been braking, Rosberg's acceleration was a beat slower, which caused him to fall behind by a considerable distance.

However, this was before the seventh lap, and the overtaking restrictions had not yet been lifted.

Hamilton's car jerked and was also slightly blocked.

Susu!

“Your starting speed is very good, Mercedes reminds Hamilton to watch his red tires,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi immediately understood; Mercedes-Benz would probably stop as well, so they would definitely need to conserve tires.

If he wants to save on tires, then his opportunity has arrived!
He's afraid Mercedes will go head-to-head with him!

In just one lap, Wu Shi had given Rosberg a lead of exactly one second.

However, DRS was not activated at this time; perhaps Rosberg simply slowed down the speed to lull him into a false sense of security.

"His lap time of 1 minute 13.017 seconds on lap 7 is currently the fastest lap," Jonathan reminded.

DRS will be activated three laps after the safety car leaves, and the safety car will return on the sixth lap, meaning DRS will be activated at the end of the ninth lap.

So after the 8th lap, Wu Shi immediately asked, "What is the second difference between me and Rosberg?"

"1.3 seconds."

"What are they planning to do?" Wu Shi asked, somewhat surprised.

“We don’t know for sure, but Hamilton slowed down, and Rosberg also slowed down appropriately,” Jonathan said.

On lap 9, the race organizers announced that DSR would be activated, and the stratus clouds were also dispersed by the wind.

As they drove into the sunlight, Wu Shi casually removed the protective film from his goggles.

He didn't know what Mercedes was trying to do.
A bold guess: Rosberg didn't want to waste tires fighting him?
But would Mercedes be willing to give up the championship like that?
He had some doubts.

In fact, Mercedes-Benz TR had not given Rosberg instructions, which was also because they were assessing Wu Shi's tire wear.

Wu Shi himself may not know that in Mercedes' driver database, his data volume is second only to Mercedes' two own drivers.

Mercedes strategists analyzed the situation and concluded that if the speed of the vehicle was not fast enough, it would be difficult to take action against Wu Shi, otherwise the attacking side would inevitably suffer huge losses.

Because Wu Shi was very aggressive, he wouldn't easily give up his position. Rosberg was well aware that he was now competing not only with Wu Shi, but also with Hamilton.

This bizarre scene left many commentators speechless.

The world champions fight for every point, but looking at the Mercedes drivers now, they don't seem to want to compete for it.
"Nico, you should increase your speed appropriately; DRS is about to activate," the Mercedes TR announced.

Mercedes' team instructions were effective.

第10圈，罗斯伯格就刷出了1分12秒629的成绩，结果和吴轼的秒差还是在1.020秒。

The team also knows that forcing the driver to exhaust himself so that his teammates can get the advantage is not a good strategy.

After all, Mercedes has repeatedly stated in meetings that they will adopt an equal approach. Since they are allowing Hamilton to maintain the tires, they cannot ask Rosberg to wear out the tires.

At this point, the internal strife within the team had begun to affect the race, and many decisions could no longer be made normally.

Sometimes, when the number 1 and number 2 drivers are clearly distinguished, the team's overall fighting power will be higher.

Unfortunately, there's internal discord within the Mercedes team right now. The world champion can't be the number 2 driver, and neither can the German.

When Mercedes vehicles are completely ahead, there is no problem in distinguishing between first and second place. However, when the performance of the vehicles is not enough to overwhelm the competition, the problem becomes very obvious.

Jonathan and Rodrigo keenly noticed the problem.

With the life-or-death struggle on the track restricted, Mercedes' strategy team can only try undercut or overcut.

Based on the current situation, overcutting is more likely.

"Be careful with your tires, Rosberg is still a second away from you," Jonathan warned.

After this reminder reached Mercedes' strategy team, the track engineers again advised Rosberg to speed up and try to attack Wu Shi.

“Yeah! I’m speeding up! Don’t rush me like that!” Rosberg shouted into the TR.

After that, Mercedes stopped pressuring Rosberg.

In reality, as members of Rosberg's crew, they also had their own thoughts: was internal team struggle more important or winning the championship?

Everyone has a different answer to this question.

Just after lap 9, Button had to leave the race due to a malfunction in the ERS system.

McLaren retires again.

The track remained calm for the next few laps, with occasional skirmishes between drivers in the back row, but no changes in the rankings.

Grosjean pitted on lap 23, with a total time of 22.016 seconds.

His entry into the pits immediately prompted several mid-level drivers to do so as well.

At this point, Wu Shi's difference from Rosberg's was still not significant, only 2.3 seconds.

So far, among the top five, apart from the two Mercedes drivers switching positions, there have been no other changes.

Now the audience was even less interested, feeling there was nothing to see.

Spectators only need to consider whether the race is entertaining or not, but the drivers are genuinely giving their all in every race.

The high speed of the Red Bull Ring puts a great strain on the neck, and Wu Shi clearly felt muscle fatigue.

At this point, he would always try to feel the tire's grip to distract himself.

At this point, the lap time had dropped to around 1 minute 12.2 seconds.

Rosberg was neck and neck with him, but Hamilton was almost 0.1 seconds slower per lap.

This situation on the field would seem very strange.

Why is it that the leading driver can go faster, while the drivers behind inexplicably lose speed and can't keep up?

Previously, when Hamilton was leading, Rosberg slowed down; now that Rosberg is in the lead, Hamilton is slowing down.

This is caused by a variety of factors.

It involves factors such as the effects of slipstream, team control instructions, and the driver's own driving ideas.

"How are the tires?" Jonathan asked.

“Not bad,” Wu Shi said.

He usually manages to pit for tires according to his planned lap times, based on the number of laps he anticipates.

In the following laps, Nasr, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Bottas, and Verstappen all changed tires.

The drivers in the front row are still locked in a stalemate.

Lap 30.

"Hamilton is faster and is closing the gap on Rosberg by 0.5 seconds. Rosberg is also closing the gap on you. They may be preparing to pit. You need to improve your lap time by 0.3 seconds."

Jonathan's voice came through the headset.

Wu Shi made a rough estimate and began to speed up.

On the next lap, Hamilton increased his speed again, reaching the end of 1 minute and 11 seconds.

“Hamilton is absolutely ready to enter the station!” Jonathan told Rodrigo.

The strategy team fell silent for a moment. What was Hamilton planning to do? Was he going to enter the station first?

He will be just ahead of Vettel when he leaves the station.

So what was Rosberg's strategy?

How much faster is the expected lap time of the new soft tires compared to the old supersoft tires?

These problems have been considered countless times, but when they are actually put on the table, no one can give a definitive optimal solution.

Jonathan could only tell Wu Shi about the situation first.

"Do I need to speed things up?" Wu Shi asked.

He could also accelerate for two laps, increasing his lead over Rosberg to three seconds.

After a while, Jonathan received Rodrigo's reply and then said:
"No need. Hamilton is 6 seconds away from you right now. We just need to keep an eye on Rosberg."

"Copy".

Wu Shi replied that it was the conventional way to deal with it.

On lap 31, Hamilton was just 2.6 seconds behind Rosberg.

On lap 32, Hamilton maintained high speed again, closing the gap with Rosberg to 2 seconds.

Then, at the end of the lap, he plunged into the pit lane to change a tire.

"Is there finally going to be a change in the front row? Judging from Lewis's speed in the last two laps, he should be preparing for an undercut!"
"Now the pressure is on the two drivers in front. How are they going to deal with it?"

The old man's entry into the station certainly got the audience on edge; was the boring match finally going to have some excitement?

The broadcast camera focused on Hamilton as he pitted, and after the screeching of the wind guns, the number 44 Mercedes landed and drove off the track with a tire-squeaking sound.

"2.2 seconds!"

That's how powerful the championship team's tire-changing capabilities are.

"He'll get out before Vettel, yes, that's confirmed now, he's ahead of Vettel," Jonathan said in TR.

What was the lap time on the first lap of the new soft tires? All eyes were on the old man.

On lap 33, Hamilton set a lap time of 1 minute 11.101 seconds as soon as he came out of the pits.

In comparison, Wu Shi and Rosberg's lap times at this time were around 1 minute 12.3 seconds.

"How are the tires?" Jonathan immediately asked in the TR.

“Very bad, it can’t hold on any longer,” Wu Shi replied, and then began to accelerate.

Mercedes' strategists stared at the screen, unsure of what the sentence meant.
Is this the truth, or a smokescreen, a plan to lure Rosberg into the pits first, and then squeeze the tires to their last bit of performance?

Since they couldn't figure out the situation, Mercedes took the most direct approach, shouting in the TR, "BOX, BOX!"

Rosberg immediately tried to increase his lap time, but the track quickly locked up.

“Rosberg’s tires are pretty bad,” Jonathan said on TR.

"Copy".

His breathing was very heavy at this moment; what he had just been talking about in the team's slang was actually about pitting on the next lap.

To prevent overcutting, it must enter the station last.

If the tires can support it, proceed as planned.

However, Hamilton's lap times on the new soft tires put him under immense pressure.

Rosberg's tires are in very poor condition and he will definitely pit at the end of this lap. So, will he be able to pit as well?

He wanted to ask in TR, but he was afraid Rosberg was putting on an act!
With this matter weighing on his mind, Wu Shi ultimately had no choice but to leave things as they were and proceed as before.

At the end of lap 34, Rosberg did indeed pit.

He also experienced significant slippage at the entrance, which clearly indicated that his tires were in poor condition.

Jonathan rubbed his temples. He should have let Wu Shi come in with him.

Surprisingly, Wu Shi clocked a time of 1 minute and 12 seconds on the 34th lap, nearly 0.7 seconds faster than Rosberg.

With the extra two seconds or so in the first half, there's absolutely no need to worry about Rosberg lapping back in the final seconds.

However, Hamilton had already run his fastest lap of 1 minute 10.6 seconds.

It's questionable whether Rosberg can even get in front of Hamilton when he leaves the station.

Click!

After Rosberg replaced the tires, the front and rear jacks did not immediately come off.

"4.0 seconds!"

"What's going on? There's something wrong with Rosberg's tire change. What could be the cause?"

Because of the limitations of the broadcast camera, no one could see what actually happened.

When Rosberg landed, his tires screeched, and he drove off the track.

Hamilton has already turned 10.

It’s over.

Mercedes' pit station is the first one at the entrance to the pit area, and given the current situation, Rosberg is definitely going to be overtaken!

Rosberg, who was in the repair area, was unaware of this situation.

He drove somewhat anxiously to the exit, but before he even crossed the line, he saw a Mercedes flash by.

"WHY?!"

He asked in TR.

"Why wasn't I allowed to enter the station first?!" Rosberg demanded angrily.

Mercedes did not reply to him; this was a tire-changing error by the crew and had little to do with the timing of their pit stops.

The top three positions were already separated by only two or three seconds, making the previously insignificant tire-changing time all the more precious.

Perhaps influenced by his emotions, Rosberg even slipped at Turn 3 on his out lap.

Fortunately, he was in the middle of nowhere, otherwise he would have definitely lost his position.

With Rosberg pitting, Wu Shi naturally followed suit on lap 35.

The race car drove into the pit lane, and the crew members were on high alert.

Wu Shi brought the F1 car to a precise stop, and the jack technician immediately lifted the vehicle up.

The tire changers neatly and uniformly removed one tire and then put on a new one.

Click, click, click!
However, an anomaly suddenly appeared in the otherwise uniform sound: the mechanic at the left front wheel tightened the bolts a second time.

"What's going on?! What's wrong with the front left wheel?!"

Upon seeing this, the soldier immediately stood up and shouted loudly.

Wu Shi's breath hitched, but he didn't shout in TR.

At this point, all we can do is pray that the mechanic on the front left wheel can fix it quickly.

He looked over and saw the technician throw down his pistol and quickly take the spare pistol handed to him by his teammate.

Crack! Crack!

The left front wheel was finally tightened.

The vehicle was immediately put down, and Wu Shi was so eager to step on the gas that the whole car almost swerved off.

"Calm down. What's done is done. You should stay calm," Jonathan immediately said in TR.

Wu Shi took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the track at the exit.

"Has Hamilton arrived yet?" he asked.

"Here it comes."

　It's been so hot and humid lately that my mind is a bit foggy. There were some errors in the previous chapter, which have been corrected. Sorry!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)