F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 243 Summer Break

“Well done, your last overtaking maneuver was fantastic,” Jonathan said.

“Yeah, I got a little arrogant after the restart, otherwise our ranking would have been better,” Wu Shi said.

A seventh-place finish, whether good or bad, is still better than having no points at all.

At the forefront, Vettel's victory drew cheers and celebrations.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, fans were incredibly enthusiastic about Vettel, with many becoming fans of the youngest world champion.

Of course, most importantly, the red Prancing Horse once again stood on the highest podium!

At this moment, Vettel is back in second place in the standings!
He was only 21 points behind Wu Shi!
Williams' weak performance in this game was obvious to everyone.

There are a lot of teams that start to underperform mid-season.

Therefore, the general consensus is that Wu Shi is still a precarious frontrunner.

"Thanks to the team, Maranello brought me back to the podium, woohoo!"

Vettel expressed his excitement, and the Ferrari crowd at the command wall applauded and embraced to celebrate the victory.

As the red prancing horse drove through each section of the audience, it was met with thunderous cheers.

Vettel waved his arms throughout, greeting the crowd celebrating for him.

Meanwhile, Red Bull was also celebrating in TR on Ricardo and Kvyat's side.

Ricciardo, in particular, won the runner-up position in the stage, a glory that once again proved his strength.

Even if the vehicle's performance is somewhat outdated, he can still achieve enough results as long as the opportunity presents itself!

Then there's Verstappen, who achieved his best career result. José tried to keep a straight face in the pit lane, but couldn't help but laugh.

Alonso and Button both scored points, ensuring that McLaren wouldn't be completely absent from the race.

In contrast, there is the Mercedes-Benz P-room.

Even if Hamilton finishes third, it still doesn't count as a huge victory.

The departure error has occurred at two consecutive stations, both of which have caused Mercedes significant losses.

Hamilton, in particular, is now 4 points behind Vettel and a full 25 points behind Wu Shi.

To catch up, we'll probably have to wait until Wu Shi withdraws from the competition and he takes the points championship.

Otherwise, it could be at least three stops, or even a few more.

How many games are left after this stop?

Nine games!

So Mercedes can't be happy at all; the tasks after the summer break are extremely heavy!
Vettel parked his car in position 1, got out, and warmly embraced his teammates.

The broadcast of the tournament was also focused on the winner.

Someone handed him a Ferrari flag and a Hungarian flag.

After Vettel took the flags, he stood on his car and waved two flags.

Cheers and applause came from all directions.

After Hamilton got out of the car, he hugged Vettel and said some celebratory words.

Wu Shi returned to the maintenance area early, and not stepping onto the podium meant he could pack up and go home.

I ran into Verstappen on the road. He was very happy to have achieved such a high ranking with a Toro Rosso.

After a brief conversation, the two waited for the subsequent interview with reporters.

Press officer Jennifer rushed over and said to Wu Shi:

"We are still leading in points, so if there are any questions about that, you need to show confidence."

Wu Shi nodded, saying that cooperating with the team's publicity was also his duty.

Although he felt his confidence was not quite sufficient.

When it came time for Wu Shi's interview, the reporter's eyes lit up; the defeat of the points leader always generates more topics.

"Wu Shi, we can see that you seem to be having some trouble adjusting to the local environment here, as you haven't achieved very good results since the qualifying rounds started."

"There were many unexpected events in the main competition. In the end, you finished seventh, still maintaining your lead in the standings, but your advantage was narrowed."

"Could you tell us what happened at this station? You ended up with yellow tires, so you should have had a chance to stand on the podium."

Wu Shi nodded and replied:
"Yes, we didn't start well at this race, but that's not a big problem. Cars will always go on advantageous tracks and disadvantageous tracks."

"Here, we've simply entered a disadvantageous track."

"During the competition, I actually had several opportunities to achieve a higher ranking, but I made mistakes, which I find unacceptable."

"My understanding of this track is not deep enough."

He paused for a moment. It wasn't that he lacked insight, but rather that he was overconfident in the vehicle and in himself.

But none of this matters anymore.

"As you can see, I still maintain my lead in the standings, and I hope to achieve even better results after the summer break."

The reporter nodded and continued to ask:
"In the first half of the season, you accumulated enough advantages, and you proved with your hard work and ability that you are a qualified and strong F1 driver."

"You also maintained a very large point difference with your teammates. How did you manage to do that?"

The question is essentially asking whether it's the person who's fast, or if the car has been specially tuned.

The defeat at one stop immediately made these people want to dig up a big story.

Wu Shi looked into the distance, then turned back and said, "Would you believe me if I said I was just lucky?"

The reporter smiled and shook his head.

"Opportunity always favors the prepared. Whenever the Mercedes drivers made a mistake, I was able to score the points that belonged to them. That's why I took the lead in the first half of the season."

Wu Shi said that he recalled each race, and if Pan Zi in his prime were thrown into the Mercedes-Benz Arena, he wouldn't have had such an easy time.

After all, Pan Zi's consistency during his peak was terrifying; when he had the Mars Rover, it seemed like he never made a mistake.

However, the two Mercedes players were different. Despite having a huge advantage in qualifying, they always encountered various unexpected events in the race, resulting in a loss of points.

After thinking it over, this is the driver's style.

Needless to say, Rosberg often experiences operational deformation when subjected to pressure.

As for the old man, this WDC only had half his mind on F1, and the other half on various fashion events.

Hamilton's poor performance in the first half of the season is common, even in the years that follow.

He will only fully commit to the game once he realizes his position is in jeopardy.

If you only beat Hamilton in the first half of the season, it doesn't prove you're better than him.

Before the reporter could continue speaking, Wu Shi spoke up:

“I will seize every opportunity and I will not let go of any points. I think WDC is so close to me, I have no reason to give up.”

The reporter nodded.

After the interview, Jennifer gave a thumbs up and said:
"That's very impressive, that's how it should be. You've been too modest before."

"Oh? Is that so?" Wu Shi gave a wry smile.

He's the kind of person who likes to celebrate after he's won.

He had witnessed too many instances where people started crying halfway through opening champagne.

Therefore, he is no longer accustomed to showing absolute confidence before the outcome is finalized.

Today's match concludes with a 24-day summer break.

Therefore, the final summary meeting was convened by Claire in Hungary.

The meeting mainly consisted of a review of the match.

Wu Shi's results were not good, but he still showed some competitiveness on the track.

Massa's competitiveness is very weak, and the reasons for this need to be clarified.

As for why it's important to clarify this now—

That's because meetings can't be held during summer break, but engineers need to understand where the problem lies—

No one can stop engineers from playing computer games on yachts or doing math on the beach during the 14-day mandatory holiday.

“I’m not used to this race car,” Massa said immediately.

"On the straights, our speed is still good, thanks to Mercedes' engines and our aerodynamic kit."

"But once you get into a corner, it becomes very difficult if you need to maintain your cornering speed."

"The track is wide, and there is almost no stable line to drive on."

"After applying light throttle, the rear wheel loses a significant amount of downforce, making it very difficult for me to gain speed when exiting corners."

"."

Massa talked about racing from beginning to end, as if he were giving a rant.

Ultimately, this race car sacrificed too much stability in order to achieve greater speed.

Once the delicate balance is broken—whether it's vehicle weight, track camber, tire grip, or line selection and speed—it will be severely affected.

In the end, it will make the whole car look completely different.

Wu Shi's ability to adapt quickly does not mean that Massa, at his age, can keep up.

In fact, Wu Shi also suffered a lot in the bend because of this characteristic.

“We have no choice but to do this to gain speed. We’ll go back and study these issues. Wu Shi, what about you?” Rod Nelson asked.

“I also hope the vehicle can become more stable. I need more controllability in corners, but if I had to make a trade-off, I would prefer performance over stability.”

"A race car without performance is useless no matter how stable it is."

Rod Nelson nodded, thinking that asking Williams for a hexagonal race car was really asking too much of them.

As the meeting concluded, the night sky was ablaze with light.

"Where are you planning to relax?" Jonathan asked.

“I don’t know either.” Wu Shi shook his head; he wasn’t a travel expert.

"The second half of the season is even more important. If you can't relax and have fun, then work hard," Jonathan said.

Although the FIA ​​stipulates that there is a mandatory rest period during the summer break.

However, the restriction only applies to the team's R&D department; as long as the drivers don't run the R&D data on the simulator, there are no restrictions.

Therefore, the summer break is very free for drivers.

"Well, I see."

"Regarding car setup, you should push it to its limits as much as possible, even if it results in the car becoming deformed," Jonathan added.

Wu Shi looked at him. "This is a battle for the world championship. Even if the research and development this season will prevent us from making progress for the next few years, you need to prioritize this season."

Jonathan's words revealed a touch of cruelty and a gambler's mentality.

This approach will undoubtedly affect Massa.

Furthermore, excessive research and tuning would ruin the car's foundation, causing it to race in an unknown direction.

Ultimately, this might lead the vehicle into a dead end, exhausting its potential and making further development difficult.

Because of the accumulation of repeated extreme research and development, the vehicle has formed a stacked design that resembles a "mountain of shit code".

A single change can have far-reaching consequences; it's not something that can be changed at will.

If this car reaches a dead end before the end of the season, then the rest of the races are a death sentence.

After all, Williams didn't have enough funds to support the R&D team to start all over again.

Wu Shi's lips parted slightly, and Jonathan patted him on the shoulder.

"come on."

Wu Shi stood alone, gazing at the night sky above the Hungaroring circuit, remaining silent for a long time.

He could still smell the rubber on the track, and the roar of the engines was still deafening.

He wanted to go inside and take a walk.

"Sir, this place is already here! You're Wu Shi!? You haven't left yet!"

The staff initially wanted to refuse, but after seeing Wu Shi in person, they tried to make an exception.

"It's okay, if it's difficult to get in, I won't go in."

Wu Shi shook his head, indicating that he did not want any special treatment.

He took a deep look at the racetrack and returned to his hotel.

During the 24-day summer break, many drivers will do what they want to do.

An old man like him must be traveling everywhere and attending fashion shows.

The other drivers also flew to various parts of the world for vacation.

Wu Shi was preparing to return to China to spend time with his father.

Ling Kang and the others also said they wanted to have a meal with him or something.

I'll go back to Italie for a few more days and spend some time with Louise.

As for the rest, I probably don't have any other ideas.

On August 4, he returned to Shenzhen.

The scenery remains the same, and at the high-speed racetrack, Boss Chen still looks as cheerful as ever.

"How is it? The new renovation is pretty good, isn't it? Thanks to you, a lot of kids from the north come here to practice. The cars you used are all framed on the wall!"

Mr. Chen led Wu Shi on a tour of the racetrack, which had been renovated and transformed.

“It is indeed very beautiful,” Wu Shi said with a smile.

Actually, the old racetracks were already quite good. After all, except for the top-tier ones, the decorations of karting racetracks are not that great.

At this moment, Ling Kang arrived with a group of children.

"Hello! Why did you come so suddenly? If you had told me you were coming earlier, we could have at least made some preparations here," Ling Kang said.

“He now works part-time here occasionally, taking care of the kids, but his main job is still running errands,” Mr. Chen said.

"Does everyone know who this is?" Ling Kang asked the children behind him.

"I know! I know!"

"It's Wu Shi!"

"Wu Shi! The best driver ever!"

Among the group of children, there was one who was the shortest, but surprisingly brave. He pushed his way through the crowd and shouted:

"I will be just like you! I will become the best driver!"

Wu Shi looked at these children with a smile, thinking that perhaps ten years later, some of them would be able to roam the world freely.

While taking a break to relax, Wu Shi also saw some news about the other drivers.

For example, when Patton was on vacation in France, his villa was burgled.

During the summer break, the drivers get real rest.

The team did not actually stop.

The R&D department was nominally on leave, but unsupervised work continued.

Claire's primary concern is always the team's financial situation.

Private car fleets need to invest a lot of money to remain competitive.

Wu Shi's arrival this year has caused problems with the original budget plan.

She is considering whether to return to a budget.

But considering her father's health condition and his hopes for the season, she gritted her teeth and decided to increase investment.

If Williams wins the world championship this season, he might be able to achieve another three to five years of glory.

During the summer break, Ferrari finalized a contract with Kimi for 2016.

Meanwhile, the seat allocation for the Haas team, which will join the paddock in 2016, has also caused quite a stir.

They may welcome Hulkenberg to join them.

Ferrari's reserve driver, Jean-Eric Vergne or Esteban Gutierrez, could be another option.

Before Williams' financial problems arose, Lotus's financial crisis had already begun.

They haven't paid the debts they owe Pirelli, which has angered Pirelli.

Lotus circuit operations manager Alan Perlman also acknowledged the current crisis, stating that it is difficult to field two cars per race.

Renault, on the other hand, has set its sights on Lotus, hoping to use this team with its rich history to return to the paddock.

The summer break is neither too long nor too short.

As we all know, holidays always seem to fly by. On the first day, you're thinking about how the holiday has started, and by the second day, it feels like the holiday is over.

In fact, Wu Shi didn't get much rest either.

After spending a week in the country, I returned to Europe.

Verstappen invited Wu Shi to his home, but in reality, he was there to drive an iR.

Despite feeling cheated, Wu Shi ended up discussing the Hungaroring circuit with Pan Zi.

In reality, running a game well on a simulator is no easier than running it well in real life.

Because drivers have very little information in simulators, their control over the vehicle is naturally not as good as in reality.

To determine the condition of his tires, Verstappen would turn the engine noise down and the tire noise up, relying on the sound to make a judgment.

Wu Shi witnessed this Autobot's obsession with racing.

However, besides playing simulators, Panzi also plays sports like football.

"If I hadn't been driving in Formula 1, I probably would have joined a football team."

Verstappen has his own ideas about life.

This is a very pure person; they know what they want and strive to achieve it.

Before returning to England from the Netherlands, the two visited the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, which was the eleventh race of the season.

However, due to preparations for the race, the track has been closed, and no team personnel are allowed to enter.

“I remember you running Spa in F3.”

"Hmm?" Wu Shi looked at Verstappen.

“You dare to go full throttle, but I don’t,” Verstappen said.

“Now you should dare to do it,” Wu Shi said with a smile.

"Of course, if I don't even dare to drive an F1 car, then I'd rather go play football," Verstappen laughed.

The Belgian Grand Prix in late August is just around the corner amidst laughter.

Williams' increased funding has been approved, but the effects are not yet immediately apparent.

However, after the mandatory 14-day rest period ended, Wu Shi was called into Claire's office alone.

"sit down."

Claire has a neat head of short blonde hair.

"I will have Rod join your crew."

"!"

Wu Shi's eyes widened. Rod was the chief engineer. If he joined his crew, did Claire need to explain what she meant?
"You guys need to work together well. I think we have really important things to do in the second half of the season!" Claire said.

"Thank you!"

Wu Shi expressed his gratitude.

Although Claire had indicated that she would focus her attention on him when he was leading in the points race.

It is difficult to reconcile the leader's orders with the actual actions of those below.

Now, having Chief Engineer Rod in his crew, even if only nominally, demonstrates Claire's determination.

“My father also hoped to see that scene,” Claire added.

Wu Shi took a deep breath and said, "I have never given up on competing for WDC, and I will not give up any opportunity to compete for WDC."

“That’s great!” Claire stood up.

The cabinet behind her is filled with trophies from various eras.

The very center position is currently empty.

"I'm waiting for your honor to be placed here."

Claire looked at the empty space; she had indeed encountered quite a few problems while managing the team in the first half of the season.

Although he took back power, he also caused turmoil within the team, with disunity and even hesitation in fully supporting Wu Shi.

Those below are adept at reading the leader's mood; they almost ruined Wu Shi's championship with a strategy at the British Grand Prix.

With her father's guidance, she also realized that as a team leader, she needed to have enough decisiveness.

Now, she has made her decision.

(End of this chapter)