F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 238 21 days

The British Grand Prix has concluded, and CCTV, as usual, reported on Wu Shi's victory.

Due to previous reports and promotion, coupled with the attraction of winning the championship itself, Wu Shi is now a topic of great discussion.

With the buzz generated, traffic naturally follows, and media outlets from different places, regardless of whether they are in the sports field, will publish several articles.

Self-media outlets also jumped on the bandwagon, further fueling the hype.

Of course, there is a considerable barrier to entry for F1.

Many people glanced at it and left, finding it very boring. Those who had watched other races complained before leaving that it wasn't as interesting as watching a rally.

Some people, although they don't watch the races much, read all kinds of F1 news every day and see how Wu Shi is praised in the comments section, thus becoming a fan of F1.

In conclusion, even though Wu Shi brought a lot of attention, the inherent high barrier to entry for F1 makes attracting new fans extremely difficult.

However, the strong promotion by the central media and the formidable potential shown by Wu Shi have already attracted the attention of some companies.

Hiring sports stars to endorse a company is an important way to enhance its brand image.

Even though Formula 1 is not as popular in China as basketball, football, badminton, or other sports that are widely participated in by the public.

But F1 itself is a top-tier international sporting event, and even though it has declined in recent years, its status remains.

So soon people turned their attention to Wu Shi.

In particular, the business departments of companies with international operations have already taken action.

Hpeng will continue to handle these matters.

However, Wu Shi is unlikely to introduce many collaborations this year; everything will have to wait until the 2015 season is over before further discussions can take place.

The British Grand Prix is ​​followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix, with a 21-day gap in between. It's practically a summer break, even if it's not one.

Of course, since it's not the summer break, it won't trigger the FIA's mandatory rest requirement.

Therefore, the engineers of each team still need to work tirelessly to continuously research and improve the technology.

The drivers, on the other hand, have much more time.

Wu Shi had set up a valuable simulator in his dormitory.

Whenever I have free time, I'll drag Panzi along to run some IR (Information Technology) games.

Panzi's account was also recently registered; he didn't have much time to spend on it.

It takes a huge amount of time for rookies to adapt to F1, even for Verstappen.

However, when Wu Shi invited him, he would still find time to run around and see if he could defeat Wu Shi in the simulator.

The two had run some races, with each winning and losing.

No matter how realistic IR is, it's still a simulator game. Both of them are new to it, so the competition is purely about who adapts better.

Aside from occasional relaxation and entertainment, Wu Shi's 21 days were not much easier.

My daily exercise routine remains unchanged.

However, after half a season of driving experience, his neck is strong enough to handle most races.

This is how neck exercises work: sitting in an F1 car for an hour and a half is more effective than a week of training.

Nutritionist Ken Ruiz played a vital role in his upbringing.

His diet remains strictly controlled.

For the past six months, he has hardly eaten any flavorful food.

His breath had already lost its bird-like taste.

Every time I eat breakfast, I think about dim sum.

Every time I eat lunch, all I can think about is poached chicken, braised goose, and roast duck.

Every time I have dinner, all I can think about is spicy hot pot.

In short, when Ling Kang sent him photos of them eating in China, he was drooling.

But for the sake of his career, he can't eat random things right now.

This kind of strict dietary control will get better as you get older.

The repercussions of the British Grand Prix continue to ripple through the European motorsport media landscape.

Wu Shi's loud shouts into the camera after winning the match were interpreted by some media outlets as a provocation.

Some British media outlets implied that Wu Shi lacked manners.

Now, Wu Shi understood even more deeply why Verstappen hated the British media so much.

However, some criticized Wu Shi, while others blamed Hamilton.

Snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan, in an interview, discussed the recent highly publicized Formula 1 British Grand Prix, saying:

Hamilton's victory in 2014 was simply because he had a fast enough car, and when that car's advantage is not obvious, he loses his competitiveness.

"The fact that the young man from the East won the championship proves my point."

This statement wasn't meant to defend Wu Shi, but rather to express dissatisfaction with the public opinion stirred up by Hamilton's fans.

Of course, whether his statement was influenced by his trip to eat hot pot with Zhao Xintong is unknown.

The FIA ​​welcomes this kind of debate that isn't directed at them, as it will draw more attention to the sport.

Aside from the controversy among fans at Silverstone Station and Wu Shi's continued lead in the standings, the most attention-grabbing event in the paddock is undoubtedly the summer transfer season.

Italo's Corriere della Sera claims that Valtteri Bottas will replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2016.

The news was so shocking that Wu Shi definitely wouldn't believe it.

Sure enough, shortly after the news was released, the person in charge immediately came out to deny it.

Wu Shi also asked Aunt Martina about this matter, but she didn't know the specifics either. However, it's highly likely that this was a rumor spread for the sake of generating buzz.

Then, while enjoying the melon, Wu Shi accidentally ended up eating his own food.

A British media outlet claims that Wu Shi will leave Williams in 2016 and that Hulkenberg will take his place.

Because someone saw that Hulkenberg was in contact with Williams.

Williams addressed the issue immediately after it came to light.

He stated that his contract with Wu Shi was for three years and that he would not breach it.

They also officially announced that Massa's contract would be extended for another year.

In addition, the whereabouts of world champion Barton, who has a very low profile, has also attracted much attention.

McLaren continues its slump, and it remains to be seen whether he will continue to drive for the team.

Excellent young drivers like Magnus and Vandoorne are eager to enter the paddock and are extremely hungry for seats.

Sauber went straight to the point and announced that Nasr and Ericsson would be the official drivers for the next season, having already renewed their contracts.

It's unclear whether the early announcement was due to the driver's sponsors securing their contracts, or if Sauber simply signs contracts so casually.

It's worth noting that at the beginning of the season, Sauber almost couldn't even participate in the games due to a contract dispute.

This summer, the partnership between Red Bull and Renault has also become precarious.

According to information from various sources, the two parties will most likely part ways in 2016.

Renault has already given Red Bull plenty of "surprises" this year.

What people are most concerned about is that after the two stopped cooperating, Renault left the paddock, leaving F1 without another engine supplier.
Or should we rebuild a factory team?
Renault Sport Managing Director Abiteboul declined to comment, stating that they would not comment on the matter before the fall.

However, he revealed something else: in 2016, Renault will no longer support Formula Renault 3.5.

This seems to demonstrate that Renault's current management is no longer interested in motorsport. Meanwhile, the Manor team announced that 2014 GP2 champion Fabio Lehmer will participate in Friday's practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The constant stream of news eventually subsided because there wasn't much to be amused about.

The paddock fell silent again during the competition.

But this calm is calm in a news sense; the atmosphere within each team remains lively.

Mercedes' top management is extremely dissatisfied with the series of defeats, and frequent internal meetings are putting constant pressure on employees.

Williams, because of what the Jazz had said to Wu Shi beforehand, glossed over what happened during the game.

The post-match review did not mention any sensitive topics, but only emphasized the need to prioritize Wu Shi's points.

However, even without dwelling too much on the issues from the previous stop, Wu Shi still sensed that the atmosphere in the factory had changed.

Atmosphere issues are not a major concern at the moment; Williams' biggest problem right now is in car development.

Despite continuous investment in upgrading the vehicle, the two drivers gave vastly different feedback.

Teams can only fit the components on the simulator and prepare them for practice.

The core problem for Williams right now is that, without the low-drag design and back to the high downforce range, the car's stability is even worse than at the beginning of the season.

Of course, simply copying the design from the beginning of the season is not an option now.

After half a season of development, the average lap time in the paddock has improved by nearly 1 second. The FW37 from the beginning of the season would be completely outclassed now.

This is the difficulty of research and development; it gets harder as you go further, and there are fewer ways to fix problems as they arise.

The increasing complexity requires a greater investment of funds and human resources.

Williams must manage its finances well in order to support the team's healthy operation.

A large portion of the R&D work is focused on further optimizing the race car, while the remaining portion is preparing for the next Grand Prix.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is ​​held on the famous Hungaroring circuit.

There are many famous scenes here, but those that impressed Wu Shi the most all took place in the future.

For example, in 2020, Verstappen skidded and went up the wall on the lap, and the Red Bull crew made a last-minute repair in 20 minutes, with Verstappen ultimately taking second place.

There are also scenes like clearing the table with a single shot, which are unforgettable.

However, none of that mattered to him anymore. What he needed to consider most was how to tune the FW37 to suit the track.

In terms of track characteristics, this track is similar to Monaco.

Although the Hungaroring was a specially built track, unlike street circuits which use existing roads, they still managed to turn it into a narrow "street circuit".

The track is only 8 meters wide on average. If the drivers in the front block the line, they can basically cut off the possibility of the drivers behind them overtaking.

Therefore, qualifying matches become very important again.

However, unlike Monaco, the hot summer and numerous slow curves that require heavy braking cause significant tire wear.

In a race with a total of 70 laps, one stop, two stops, and three stops can all be used as strategies.

Of course, no one would be foolish enough to stop immediately. With severely worn tires, not to mention the lap time issue, the risk of a tire blowout is high enough.

Two-stop and three-stop are the more common trends.

The specific strategy to be adopted will depend on the results of the practice matches.

On July 18, Bianchi suddenly came to England and found Wu Shi, telling him about a dream he had the previous day about the almost fatal accident.

Wu Shi asked the team for half a day off and chatted for a long time with this driver who should have become a future star of French F1.

As they chatted, he suddenly remembered that on July 17th, Bianchi passed away peacefully in his hometown after being in a coma for nine months.

His arrival ultimately changed many things.

"By the way, Nicholas has also become quite interested in the racetrack I'm running, especially after hearing that you've joined in," Bianchi mentioned.

Nicolas Todt, son of FIA President Jean Todt, is a well-known agent in the paddock.

Wu Shi didn't know why Nicholas was telling Bianchi this.

After all, Nicolas is Massa's agent, and they've met a few times before.

“Now all the teams are focusing on youth training, so there are fewer and fewer opportunities for professional managers to scout drivers,” Bianchi said.

"Oh? So you mean he's also planning to join your project to scout out those young drivers?" Wu Shi asked curiously.

“He does have that idea. He even regrets not meeting with you to talk about it a few years ago.”

Nicholas had contacted Sid and frankly offered to help Wu Shi plan his path to Ferrari.

Well, this seemed completely unnecessary to Sid at the time, since Wu Shi could talk directly to Ferrari back then.

“If he is interested, I would be very happy for him to participate. He has enough connections, and for many children without connections, he can give them the opportunities they crave most,” Wu Shi said.

“That’s easy to say.” Bianchi laughed, a very bright smile.

The two then talked about Leclerc, the handsome young man from Monaco, who achieved good results in F3.

Only those who have driven a Van Amersford know how difficult it is to win a championship in this car.

Previously, only Wu Shi and Verstappen had accomplished this, and now Leclerc has done it too.

It's likely that very few people will be able to do that in the future.

After all, the big teams gradually turned their attention to lower-level racing – later Mercedes even went so far as to set their sights on karting.

Famous talents are often recruited by big teams early on, making it difficult for smaller teams like Van Amersford to attract any more talented players.

Besides Lock & Lock, there are many familiar names in F3, such as Storr, Russell, and Albon.

Speaking of F3, Wu Shi thought of his rivals from last year.

Aokang is running GP3 and is making great strides.

As for why he doesn't run higher-level races, it's probably related to his financial situation.

Every step before entering the highest hall costs money.

However, his outstanding abilities have already attracted the attention of many F1 teams.

People in Weichang are no longer so resistant to the idea of ​​forcing growth.

Because Williams and Red Bull brought in two players from F3 last year, one is now leading the standings and the other has demonstrated an extremely high level of driving skill.

Everyone's wondering if all the geniuses are suddenly appearing in droves? Should we try our luck with a card draw first?

If I were to get a UR card like Wu Shi, wouldn't I be rich?
That evening, Bianchi said goodbye; he was returning to France.

They came in a hurry, and they left in a hurry.

Everyone is busy with their own things.

Wu Shi walked alone on the street for two hours under the gloomy sky.

When the engine noise was gone, the smell of engine oil was gone, and the steering wheel was gone, I felt completely relaxed.

By temporarily setting aside all thoughts, the mind finds solace in this brief moment of tranquility.

Occasionally, I stop and look at the world, and I realize what all my hard work since I was nine years old has been for.

breathe!

He had seen the neon lights, knew the competition wasn't over, and that his efforts should continue.

The next day, he returned to the factory and sat on the simulator.

(End of this chapter)