F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 230 Peerless Genius
Wu Shi remained silent, waiting for the two to continue.

Sid retrieved some materials he had prepared beforehand from his laptop, pushed them in front of Wu Shi, and began to explain them:
"We have been closely monitoring Williams' situation."

"Although your performance this year has been very good, the revenue you have brought them cannot support the high R&D costs."

“You should have more accurate information within the team; Williams’ funding for F1 car development is actually in the middle to lower range.”

"According to multiple media reports, the team is struggling with aerodynamics and other aspects of research and development, and there have been many personnel changes recently, which is very detrimental to research and development in the next few years."

After Sid finished speaking, he looked at Wu Shi and asked, "You should be aware of this situation, or rather, the information you received indicates that all of this information is false?"

After reviewing the key data, Wu Shi sighed and offered no rebuttal.

Although he was unaware of the specific funding allocation, he was aware of the slow progress in the aerodynamics development of the racing car.

The huge victory at the Austrian Grand Prix had little to do with aerodynamics; it was actually supported by Mercedes' engines.

Towards the end of practice, Wu Shi was able to determine that on this track, the lack of downforce in high-speed corners could be compensated for through technique.

The track has enough space, the tires can provide enough grip, and the suspension chassis can also provide enough mechanical grip enhancement.

This means he can set similar lap times to Mercedes in qualifying, which gives him a chance to compete for pole position.

In the main race, his ability to maintain his fertility can compensate for the increased tire wear caused by insufficient downforce, allowing him to still compete with Mercedes.

As a result, during the race, the two Mercedes players made mistakes in Q3, allowing him to take pole position with almost no sense of urgency.

At the start of the main race, Hamilton's mistake sparked a battle with Rosberg, making victory seem within reach.

The subsequent mistake at the exit could have cost them the championship.

As a result, Hamilton pushed too hard in the first few laps, and when it came to a head-to-head battle with him, the tire difference was very significant.

At the post-race debriefing meeting, Wu Shi saw the old man's fastest lap time of 1 minute 10.6 seconds and exclaimed that he was crazy.

It's worth noting that Wu Shi, Rosberg, and Vettel all have fastest lap times of 1 minute 11.2 seconds or later, and the other drivers are far from achieving that number.

The 0.8 seconds that the old man squeezed out was based on the tires' hard work.

In short, a victory at the Austrian Grand Prix should not be taken as the norm for a team.

During his six months of involvement in Williams' R&D work, Wu Shi also discovered the team's financial difficulties.

The sponsors behind him have indeed given Westbrook a much-needed boost.

However, F1 teams are not small fry; given Westbrook's investment, their competitiveness will decline dramatically next year.

The races so far have shown that Mercedes' engine advantage is no longer for the whole season, but only for low-temperature conditions.

Ferrari is almost catching up.

When Ferrari's aerodynamics improve further next year, it will be questionable whether West Bromwich Albion can even withstand Ferrari, let alone compete head-on with Mercedes.

"That's right, our R&D funding is tight, and progress on aerodynamics is very slow," Wu Shi admitted directly.

Since Sid was able to analyze it, it means that these things are not a secret in the paddock.

"Yes, your performance in the first half of the year was extremely good, so good that..."

Sid glanced at Martina.

Martina then picked up the conversation, saying:

"So good that every racing team wants you."

"If Ferrari didn't already have two great drivers, Kimi and Vettel, they would have been very eager for you to join them."

“All the top teams can anticipate that if you continue to grow in the paddock for a few more years, you will become the top driver that every team dreams of.”

Sid nodded and said, "I've been in contact not only with Ferrari, but also with Mercedes and McLaren."

"They want to invest in the future."

Wu Shi nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. I get along well with Williams' colleagues."

Sid was somewhat helpless, and Wu Shi continued:
"Mercedes has Hamilton and Rosberg; Ferrari has Vettel and Kimi; McLaren has Alonso and Button; Red Bull doesn't pay attention to me, and the other teams are not as good as Williams."

"So, is it too early to discuss this issue?"

Sid didn't know the full extent of Wu Shi's refusal, and found it difficult to continue.

Martina, without so many reservations, said directly:
"What Sid is worried about now is whether you will choose to refuse any negotiations because of your relationship with Williams?"

Wu Shi pondered for a moment. With his knowledge of history, he knew that the Wei team had risen to prominence in the hybrid era, but after two years, it began to fall behind.

In 2016, Williams' total points dropped to fifth place.

The situation then worsened, even falling to the bottom in 2019.

Ultimately, the Williams family was unable to continue supporting the team's enormous operating costs, and it was acquired the following August, thus relinquishing its status as a private team.

Mr. Williams has sold off a significant portion of his assets over the years to support the ever-increasing operating costs of the F1 team.

The old man's behavior was highly respected in the paddock, and many reporters called him the last person with the spirit of F1.

These words of praise may be exaggerated, but they are enough to show the respect they receive.

However, words like respect and reverence are no match for money when it comes to reality.

Formula 1 has become increasingly expensive, and with no budget cap in place, the future of private teams looks bleak.

Without capital support, dreams will only be crushed into dust.

Wu Shi opened his mouth, but finally said:
"Sure, but I only want to talk about this with Mercedes."

"Why?" Sid asked in surprise.

"Right now, only they have a car capable of winning the championship."

Wu Shi bluntly stated his thoughts: in the struggle to win the WDC, he was just an ordinary person, and he regrettably sacrificed a lot to obtain it.

For the next few years, Mercedes will likely remain the dominant force.

"Not even Ferrari?" Sid asked, somewhat surprised.

"Now is not the time to consider this."

Before Wu Shi could reply, Martina interrupted with a smile, having already gotten the result she wanted.

"it is good."

Sid nodded, not needing to think about why Martina didn't want Wu Shi to join Ferrari; he just needed to carry out the negotiations with Mercedes.

After Wu Shi left, Xi De sighed.

"He has developed feelings for Williams."

Martina nodded and said, "Williams is good to him, but unfortunately, with his driving style, he will soon become a burden to the team."

Sid recalled Kimi from two years ago, who almost bankrupted the Lotus team.

"If he maintains this momentum, Wu Shi will have at least 300 points by the end of the season, which is worth $3 in his contract."

"The points bonus for a single season can reach as high as $900 million, and that doesn't even include other bonuses."

According to a simple calculation by Sid, Westbrook is expected to pay Wu Shi a total of $1500 million in compensation in 2015.

Fortunately, Williams vehicles were competitive in 2014, and they didn't make a rash decision like Lotus offered Kimi an exorbitant price of $50,000 per point.

Otherwise, Wu Shi would have lost $1500 million just from the points alone.

Even if the team finishes second in the overall standings, Westbrook's prize money may only be around $1 million.

This amount of money, if invested in research and development, would barely be enough.

Besides research and development, the team's other expenses are also not low.

In reality, apart from Ferrari, most of the other racing teams are operating at a loss.

However, factory teams like Mercedes, backed by their parent companies, can afford such a price.

The increasingly serious situation of high investment and difficulty in recouping costs in F1 is also the reason why F1 is eager to change itself.

The budget cap was put on the agenda because if things continue like this, no one except the big teams will want to play anymore.

Wu Shi's short vacation was not over yet, so he returned home.

He still felt a little depressed.

But just as his emotions were rising, he shook his head. "It's not even close to happening yet, what am I thinking?"

Besides, that's just how it is in the paddock.

When the seven-time champion left Mercedes, he left just like that.

In the evening, Louise returned and excitedly dragged him to play iRacing.

Wu Shi found creating an account too troublesome—if he entered his real name, the official system would require him to prove that he was "Wu Shi." This is because "Wu Shi" was no longer a free nickname, but rather the exclusive nickname for the F1 driver "Wu Shi."

“Let’s play on your account. What’s your score now?” Wu Shi asked.

"A little over 1500 points. I just got my D license and I'm about to go to high school, so I don't have much time to play."

Louise's eyes darted around, and she asked, "You should be able to drive race cars other than F1, right?"

Wu Shi nodded, then said somewhat uncertainly, "I think so?"

"Hehe, I believe you can definitely drive it! Give me a run!"

Louise excitedly clicked on the "Global Fantasy Challenge" competition she had purchased in her D-Certificate series.

"Oh, it'll take this long?"

Louise glanced at the time; the next match was still almost an hour and a half away.

"This should be done soon."

Wu Shi pointed to "SPEC RACER FORD CHALLENGE".

"Then this!"

Louise doesn't play much, but she's bought quite a lot of the tournament series.

The track is Spa, the cars are SRF, and there's a practice session going on inside.

"Should I buy you an emulator next time?" Wu Shi picked up the controller.

"We'll talk about it later. We don't have much time to play right now," Louise said with a smile, sitting next to her.

The main issue with using a gamepad for IR is that the joystick control isn't precise enough, but it's sufficient for playing lower-level tournaments.

Wu Shi was deeply impressed by Spa. Driving a car that was much slower than F1 cars, there was a sense that there was so much reaction time that one could even be in a daze.

Because he was unfamiliar with the track and car conditions in the simulation game, he drove very conservatively on the first lap.

2 minutes 42 seconds 111.

"Wow! That's fast! How did you do that?!" Louise's eyes widened in surprise.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you!" Wu Shi said with a smile.

"Yes! Of course I do!"

Louise nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Wu Shi didn't mince words and began to share his experience.

The main difficulty for beginners in IR lies in their poor understanding of the track and their lack of attention to information.

If your goal is simply to improve your grades, you can just memorize the reference points and actions like you would for a driver's license test.

Wu Shi practiced running a few laps, explained the rules to Louise, and then waited for the competition to begin.

In the qualifying race, he was even faster, reaching the end of 2 minutes and 39 seconds, while the fastest time for the rest of the people in the room was only the end of 2 minutes and 41 seconds.

Louise clicked her tongue, looking at Wu Shi's profile. Is this the skill of an F1 driver?

Once the official competition began, Wu Shi focused entirely on the game.

He started from pole position as expected. In the 9-lap race, he drove faster and faster in the first few laps, but almost dropped out of the rankings after slipping on the 5th lap.

He then realized that this was a game, and the joystick on the controller had no force feedback, so he had to guess to get a feel for the tires.

After successfully crossing the finish line, the safety score only increased by 0.17, but the total points were increased by 121.

This directly propelled Louise into the 1700 mark.

"Great!"

Louise was overjoyed and quickly took a picture of the screen with her phone before sending it to the group chat.

Wu Shi leaned over to look and saw that she had also added a caption: "Just ran around and got first place. Not bad, right?"

The group chat quickly filled with surprised "what?" comments.

"Are they all your classmates?" Wu Shi asked.

Louise rubbed her itchy ears and nodded:
"It's mainly enthusiasts from schools, and some have joined the club online as well."

After a moment of surprise, a message popped up in the group chat:

"Is this your first time running? You're a genius! How about participating in professional races?"

Louise was stunned for a moment after seeing this, and with a guilty look on her face, she said to Wu Shi, "He asked you if you want to participate in professional competitions?"

"Haha, I'm participating in this now, so let's tell him to focus on his studies," Wu Shi laughed.

“Mmm.” Louise nodded.

Pleasant times always fly by. After resting at home for one night, Wu Shi flew to the England base early the next morning.

Stepping back into the headquarters, you see the F1 car that won the championship in 94.

This car holds great significance for Williams, as it was the year Ayrton Senna left this world forever.

For reasons unknown, the old man pushed the car, which was parked in the Williams Museum, into the headquarters lobby.

Sir Williams is not one to dwell on the past; he can be unusually detached emotionally at times.

Wu Shi walked through the marble-floored front courtyard and arrived at the research and development factory at the back.

Massa was discussing something with the engineers when he saw Wu Shi coming over, and several of the young engineers immediately started whistling.

His frivolous demeanor aroused dissatisfaction among some people, but given that the champion had walked in, no one chose to say anything more.

"Welcome back. Without you, the calibration work here has been progressing very slowly."

Massa was delighted, saying that the young man was finally back, and he no longer needed to work overtime.

"I'm just icing on the cake. With you here, the calibration work can be completed."

Wu Shi walked up to Massa with a smile and gave him a high five.

"Welcome back, our champion." Jonathan stepped forward and hugged Wu Shi.

The factory is mostly staffed by engineers, while Claire's focus remains primarily on getting the team's finances running.

Back at work, Wu Shi transformed into a ruthless machine once again.

Silverstone Circuit and Red Bull Ring have something in common: they are both high-speed circuits.

This means Williams is able to maintain the advantage he had in the previous game.

However, compared to the Red Bull Ring with only 10 bends, the Silverstone Ring with 18 bends is much more complicated.

This is the track that Wu Shi ran in F3, so before the race even started, it was widely believed that Wu Shi would continue his championship run here.

However, the other side believes that Hamilton will get his revenge at home, as the points gap between him and his teammates is widening.

Anatoly Tucker opened the iracing website and replayed Louise's account's game from yesterday.

The more he looked, the more astonished he became. What kind of incredible creature was this? It entered the corner so quickly and exited it just as fast. Wouldn't its tires slip?
Oh, it'll be slippery!

Anatoly Tucker breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the mistake on the fifth lap.

With this kind of talent, you can put school aside and go straight to professional competitions to become a top streamer, wouldn't that be pretty good?

Anatoly Tucker has plans to recruit this outstanding talent for his club.

Judging from the records, this new account named "Wu Louise" doesn't seem to have participated in many races.

Check the previous matches under this account.

Hmm, it's a bit of a mess.

Wait a minute, this out-of-control behavior... could this newbie be playing with a controller?
Tucker frantically scratched at his already sparse hair, looking terrifying!
He decided that he still needed to contact this unparalleled genius.

However, after tagging him in the group chat, no one added him as a friend, and his attempts to contact them yielded no results.

'Geniuses are often arrogant; I need to find a way to move him so he'll choose to join us!'

Tucker was confident that he could win over this genius with his sincerity.

Meanwhile, Louise was engrossed in her homework when she saw the message on Facebook, took a screenshot, and sent it to Wu Shi.

It seems that his previous boasting has gotten him into trouble.

She wanted to ask how to reply, but thought it was too troublesome, so she simply asked Wu Shi to send it to her: "Log into my account and reply for me."

(End of this chapter)