F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 233 Williams Mercedes
The following day, during the drivers' parade before the main race, Wu Shi leaned against the fence of the bus.

"Wu Shi, I heard you weren't feeling well yesterday. What happened?"

Hamilton came to ask, adopting a rather friendly attitude.

"It's nothing, probably just a cramp from overexertion. I'll need to be more careful in the future," Wu Shi replied.

"Perhaps you should talk to your nutritionist and trainer. They should take this issue seriously, as even minor physical problems can greatly affect the game."

Hamilton, speaking from experience, offered this advice.

However, when he said this, he wasn't thinking of himself, but of his teammate Rosberg.

Rosberg hasn't been in very good shape lately either.

He could tell that the guy was under immense pressure; his once golden hair had turned black.

Although we don't know the specifics of this teammate's health, it's probably not good, considering the team's psychologist has been quite busy recently.

Of course, he was also in a mess, and by some twist of fate, he ended up in third place on the overall points leaderboard.

He performed better than his teammates in almost every game, yet he ended up with this result.

After much consideration, it turned out that it was Wu Shi who caused it.

"Yes, thank you for your suggestion, but summer vacation is coming soon, and I will take the time to take good care of my health then," Wu Shi said.

“Of course, I wish you all the best in the game.” Hamilton extended his hand.

Wu Shi grasped it, and said with a smile:
"Does wishing me all the best at this time mean you hope I can overtake you on the track?"

"Oh? I'm glad you caught up. Our top speed at this station isn't bad."

Hamilton withdrew his hand and adjusted his sunglasses.

During the parade, Wu Shi also got a slight sense of the atmosphere in the audience.

He felt somewhat helpless, much like Pan Ziri faced the orange army later on.

At 1 p.m., the Grand Prix was about to begin.

The sky wasn't exactly perfect, but at least the clouds were thin, and you could see the blue background.

Air temperature 19℃, track temperature 32℃, wind speed 18km/h, humidity 52%.

"The weather is really nice."

After surveying the area, Wu Shi got off the race car and spoke to Jonathan.

"The weather forecast says it might rain."

The two looked up at the sky, wondering if the weather forecast was really accurate.

"I do not know."

"The wind speed is quite high, that's something you need to pay close attention to," Jonathan reminded.

Wu Shi nodded, saying that protecting the dike from the wind was actually very difficult.

After all, the wind is unpredictable. It might be southeast for the whole day, but then suddenly southwest. How can we defend against that?

The final waiting time is always a little nerve-wracking.

"Get ready to get in the car."

"it is good."

Wu Shi began to wear a hood and helmet.

After getting into the car and installing the steering wheel, I didn't immediately put on gloves.

The temperature of 19℃ was a bit cold, but the drivers were all very hot, and they could feel the cool breeze to cool down without wearing gloves.

"Alright, we need to start retreating."

This time, Jonathan's voice came through the headphones.

Wu Shi put on gloves, and the crew lowered the jacks on the vehicle and began to evacuate from the starting straight with their equipment.

The engines of the vehicles started one after another, and the humming sound filled the starting grid.

The bells rang as the minute hand of the Rolex clock hanging in the stadium pointed to the crown.

At 1:00 PM sharp, the race officially began, and the warm-up lap started.

Hamilton led nineteen drivers into the starting line, and the deep roar of the engines filled the air.

Silverstone Circuit is long, so the warm-up time isn't as rushed as at the Red Bull Ring.

Except for Verstappen, everyone else started on neutral tires.

The front row featured two Mercedes, two Williams, and two Ferraris.

"Dark clouds are being moved toward the stadium, increasing the probability of rain to 30%."

Just as Wu Shi parked the car in the starting grid, Jonathan's voice rang out.

Wu Shi wasn't really looking forward to the rain. Low resistance, low pressure, rainy days—even a god would encounter problems!
But what the old man said to him on the float, did Mercedes also use a low-pressure kit?
However, no matter how much pressure Mercedes applies, their pressure is still better than Williams'.

Nineteen cars arrived at the starting grid one after another, but Nasr was unable to participate due to a car malfunction.

All the drivers were using their golden right foot to control the revs.

The engines roared in unison, yet their sounds were uneven.

Matthew waved the green flag behind, and the safety car came to a stop.

The first red light illuminates beneath the UBS (Union Bank) logo.

Wu Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a slight twitching in his stomach.

He has rarely been this nervous before. Why is he so nervous about this stop?
He didn't know the answer, so he could only immediately discard these useless thoughts.

When God came to his senses, the third red light had already been lit.

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt a sense of panic at having missed my chance to make a move.

The fourth red light came on, and the engine roared even louder.

The fifth red light came on, the engine noise reached its highest point, and the clutch entered a semi-clutch state.

All the drivers were waiting for the moment the red light would go out.

call!
suck!
call!
suck!
Lights out!

The clutch engages, and the vehicle is driven.

Wu Shi noticed something was wrong as soon as he moved.

The two Mercedes-Benz cars in the front row are slowing down!

He only drove two car lengths before immediately changing lanes to the middle.

Massa also did the same thing!
"Whoa!!! Both Mercedes, Lewis and Nico, made serious mistakes at the start!"
"A complete and serious mistake!"

"The two Williams cars seized the opportunity! They're sprinting."

"Look! Mercedes is too slow! Wu Shi has overtaken two people and reached the first bend!"

"Does Massa have a chance? Yes! Massa also has a chance! He went there too!"
"My God! Two Williams cars overtook two Mercedes cars at the start!"

The commentator roared, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Even Hulkenberg overtook two Ferraris from behind, which went unnoticed.

It's astonishing that two out of the three major racing teams have run into trouble.

However, before Hamilton could go to Massa to reclaim his position, a yellow flag suddenly appeared behind him.

The camera pans to Jason Patton, his car parked in the muddy grass of the buffer zone.

"Attention, with the safety car leading the way, Button and Grosjean have retired from the race, and Alonso has pitted to change his nose wing."

Jonathan said.

However, just as Wu Shi approached the safety car, Bottas retired from the race.

As soon as the race began, three cars retired, causing significant changes in the top rankings.

The broadcast footage was played back one by one.

First, Hamilton, judging from the fluctuations in the engine sound, it was clear that something had happened.

Just as he shifted into second gear and reached a speed of 150 kph, a white figure flashed past on his right.

Wu Shi surpassed him.

When he shifted into 5th gear and reached a speed of 220 km/h, Massa had already cut inside on the right side.

In the braking zone, Massa completed the overtake.

"Did Hamilton make a mistake at the start? Or was it because his car's starting speed was poor? The speed difference between him and Williams is huge!" Fei Ge said.

The camera then switched to Verstappen's perspective, where, as a war correspondent, he witnessed the chain collision of four vehicles behind him.

The following is from Patton's perspective, showing how he was involved in the collision.

All three cars were parked in the buffer zone with all four wheels intact, and Matthew pushed them out.

Therefore, the safety car will not be on the road for long.

The camera focused on Massa and Hamilton, where the old man displayed extreme aggression, sticking close behind Massa.

If Massa had slowed down even slightly at that moment, the old man might have crashed into him.

At the end of the third lap, the safety car was removed.

As Wu Shi accelerated, Massa immediately followed.

Because his teammate was right behind him, Wu Shi didn't try to stop him from starting. The old man then went completely overboard, flooring the accelerator, and was about to catch up with Massa on the straightaway when he suddenly reached the bend.

Hamilton braked very, very late; he desperately wanted to overtake Massa!

However, the braking distance was very tight, and white smoke continued to billow out after heavy braking.

The entire vehicle lost its perfect trajectory and had to detour to the outer line.

This time, not only did he fail to surpass Massa, but Rosberg caught up instead.

Hamilton was unable to deal with Massa's situation any longer and could only focus on defending Rosberg.

After the final bend, on the starting straight, Rosberg was right behind Hamilton.

To avoid being caught in the wake, the old man moved directly from the sideline to the center line. Rosberg tried to follow, but noticed that the old man was also showing a tendency to change lanes to the right.

Rosberg immediately returned to the left outside line.

Hamilton noticed that his teammates weren't following him, but he quickly moved towards the left flank.

The short starting straight at Silverstone soon came to an end.

Hamilton held onto the inside line as he entered Turn 1, finally managing to hold onto his position.

Wu Shi, who was in the front row, had already created a very large gap.

Massa also distanced himself from the group.

At this moment, the rivals Mercedes encountered Hulkenberg and Kimi, who were coming from the opposite direction.

If the fight continues, these two will launch an attack on Rosberg.

Fortunately, Hamilton's clean defense at Turn 1 deprived Rosberg of his chance to attack.

Rosberg then noticed what was happening behind him and immediately took a defensive route.

Hulkenberg was blocked and unable to attack, wasting his own time.

Kimi then caught up and launched an attack on Hulkenberg, and the two took turns swaying their bikes around several corners.

Unfortunately, Hulkenberg secured his position at the hairpin turn on the 4th due to insufficient distance.

At that moment, a yellow flag suddenly appeared on the track again.

The fierce fighting in the front row came to a halt.

The camera then pans to a Red Bull-painted vehicle parked in the gravel buffer zone, just a hair's breadth away from hitting the guardrail.

The billowing white smoke indicated that the process of rushing into the gravel ground was undoubtedly massive.

Once the white smoke dissipated slightly, it became clear that it was Verstappen's race car.

Unexpectedly, he had just escaped a disaster when he himself slipped and slid off the track.

“Verstappen is still too young; he overlooked an important issue.”

"Ok?"

"He was using hard tires, unlike the other riders! After the safety car, his tires were completely cold and had terrible grip."

The two commentators, speaking and responding in turn, clearly pointed out the main cause of the Verstappen accident.

The yellow flag in the first time slot did not affect overtaking in other areas.

Vettel launched an attack on Kvyat, taking advantage of Ferrari's speed.

Kvyat was no pushover either, his defensive line was impenetrable.

Entering the fifth lap, the fastest lap was taken by Wu Shi, with a time of 1 minute 40.879 seconds.

At this point, he pulled away from Massa by 0.9 seconds.

He pulled ahead of Hamilton by 1.7 seconds and Rosberg by 2.45 seconds.

Safety cars and phased yellow flags will delay the implementation of DRS.

At this moment, the Little Red Bull TR was played.

The team had Verstappen turn off the engine.

The car got stuck and there was no chance of returning to the track.

“That’s right, that’s more like the performance of a young rookie,” the soldier suddenly said.

These words truly expressed the sentiments of many people in the hunting grounds.

Wu Shi's performance was not that of a young rookie; he was more like a seasoned rookie, like Hamilton.

In short, Wu Shi was frighteningly young, yet incredibly experienced.

If he were the same age as Sainz, no one would be too surprised; they would simply consider it another genius to have emerged.

The game continues.

The 52-lap race, with its continuous yellow flags and safety cars in the first six laps, made for a very exciting race despite the drivers not having much to do.

Turning back from Verstappen, Vettel made a mistake while attacking Kvyat.

After slipping, he not only lost the chance to overtake Kvyat, but was also overtaken by Perez from behind.

"Based on the results of the last lap, only we and Mercedes can run under 1 minute and 41 seconds, while everyone else is over 1 minute and 42 seconds."

Jonathan provided timely updates on the situation on the field, but did not issue any instructions.

"Ok."

After responding, Wu Shi continued driving in a sullen manner.

With the track fully restored to normal, some people are getting restless again.

However, considering that the medium tires need to last for a considerable period of time, everyone became much more cautious and did not drive recklessly like they did at the start.

At the end of the sixth lap, DRS was activated.

At this moment, the camera replayed a video clip showing Wu Shi and Massa overtaking two Mercedes-Benz cars.

In Williams' P room at that time, Claire jumped up excitedly.

Having two cars in the front row means the team will gain a significant number of points.

On the seventh lap, Wu Shi's lap time from the previous lap came out: 1 minute 39.353 seconds.

The lap time is still being set.

Wu Shi knew he had to be fast. It was a little difficult for Massa to keep up with him, but fortunately he was still able to keep up.

Neither Mercedes gave up the opportunity, and both were within one second of the car in front.

What happened next was astonishing: the four F1 cars in the front row formed a high-speed train, quickly pulling away Hulkenberg, who was in fifth place.

In just a few laps, Hulkenberg was a full 5 seconds behind Rosberg!

This appears to be the case that there are no other vehicles for almost the length of a starting straight behind the four cars.

Such a stark contrast made the audience realize once again just how incredible Mercedes' engine is in low-temperature, high-speed environments.

As soon as the 8th lap was over, Jonathan immediately said to Wu Shi:

"Hamilton, 1 minute 39.293 seconds, he is closing in on Massa and needs DRS."

"Copy".

Unbeknownst to him, he had already pulled away from Massa for a second.

Considering teamwork, he slowed down slightly, allowing Massa to return to his DRS zone.

Now, Massa can finally deal with Hamilton's closing in.

The first train resumed its steady journey.

"Hulkenberg, who is in fifth place, is already more than 8 seconds behind Wu Shi, which is quite terrifying! It's only the 9th lap now," the soldier exclaimed.

"On such a cold, high-speed track, the advantage brought by the Mercedes engine is still unmatched by other teams," Fei Ge replied.

"Then it's a pity about Lotus." The soldier shook his head.

"What's a pity? They can afford to pay for the points now," Fei Ge joked.

"Haha, Bottas and Grosjean won't end up like Kimi, and after Kimi's contract, I feel Lotus won't dare to offer high prices for points," Bing Ge laughed.

At the end of the ninth lap, Rosberg set the fastest lap time of 1 minute 39.198 seconds.

"The top four drivers are really fighting tooth and nail! They're all racing for their lives."

The broadcast cameras focused on the front row because these four cars were so close together and were the focus of everyone's attention.

Even the footage of Vettel overtaking Perez was only replayed later.

"Keep your speed up. We need to work together to block them. I can't give you much guidance on the specifics," Jonathan said.

"Copy".

Wu Shi didn't intentionally lead him away; rather, when he slowed down, Massa would use DRS to quickly close the distance.

This is something he absolutely cannot tolerate; being too close means misunderstandings are bound to arise.

After all, just now, he noticed that Massa's movement was a bit abnormal on several occasions.

It's worth noting that Massa's last championship win dates back to 2008.

If the veteran had the chance, would he be able to resist?
Wu Shi's advice regarding this kind of test of human nature is not to give it a chance.

　It's raining heavily tonight, is there any way to escape?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)