F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 246 Returning to Second Place
After overtaking, the downhill section came quickly, making it easy for Wu Shi to maintain his lead.

In the narrow section of the track behind him, Hamilton had no chance to overtake.

With the first lap halfway through, the track positions finally stabilized temporarily, and the rankings began to appear.

Wu Shi ranked first, followed by Hamilton, Perez, Ricardo, and Bottas.

Rosberg slipped to sixth place, behind him are Vettel, Grosjean, Massa, and Eriksson.

Because the situation was too chaotic and the fighting in the front was fierce, no one could see what was happening in the rear.

Only then did the director begin the replay.

From an overhead perspective, Rosberg's start was extremely slow.

Before the straightaway ended, he was already behind Wu Shi, Perez, and Ricardo.

As Rosberg approached Turn 1, Perez and Ricciardo blocked his line from the left and right, respectively, causing him to fall further behind.

Bottas had a bad start and kept falling behind, but Grosjean's blockade actually benefited him, allowing him to hold onto his position.

During the ensuing siege of Rosberg, Bottas stole the route again and moved up to fifth place.

After watching the replay from multiple perspectives, everyone finally understood.

Rosberg and Bottas both made very serious mistakes at the start.

Hamilton was second.

Wu Shi and Ricardo had a good start, followed by Perez.

As expected, the new starting rules in Belgium have further widened the skill gap between drivers at the start.

In the replay, the entire Williams P room erupted in cheers.

The crowd in the Mercedes-Benz Arena were stunned, clutching their heads in disbelief.

It's rare to see footage of Indian forces.

After the replay ended, the situation on the track changed again.

Rosberg was closing in on Bottas and made several attempts to attack.

Bottas's offensive and defensive capabilities were already weak, and after being forced into a corner multiple times, he was locked out of the game.

Rosberg then successfully crossed over at the last two corners, 18 and 19.

Even more critically, Vettel also used this opportunity to close the gap with Bottas.

On the long straight, the Ferrari sucked in the wake, and its speed increased very quickly.

Vettel only turned to overtake when he was close to the braking zone.

Bottas had no chance to fight back and was completely overtaken at Turn 1.

Bottas is still too young, and his abilities in all aspects are not as refined as they are now.

“Very good,” Ferrari praised Vettel.

Rosberg, on the other hand, was discussing the possibility of going further.

Wu Shi's situation is also extremely dangerous.

On the straightaway, Hamilton was in hot pursuit.

This WDC driver handles understeer with ease when following another vehicle.

It demonstrated exceptional pursuit and combat capabilities.

Wu Shi also realized this, and perhaps at some point, the silver arrow would drift to his side.

So as soon as the first lap ended, he immediately asked Jonathan:
What is the second difference between me and Lewis?

“0.4 seconds, it would be very difficult to shake him off,” Jonathan said frankly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Shi knew that it was no longer possible for him to finish the race ahead of the others.

Hamilton isn't attacking him now not because he doesn't want to, but because he doesn't want to burn through his tires.

Hamilton is waiting for the DRS to be activated on lap four.

Once you have DRS, on that super long stretch of full-throttle road after Turn 1, with DRS, it's a complete stomp!
Williams had no chance to resist.

Wu Shi also considered using a slowing tactic, having Perez and Ricardo catch up and put pressure on Hamilton.

But Spa is different from those street circuits; if he dares to press down, Hamilton dares to cut inside.

Therefore, he was forced to maintain high-speed cruising.

"You can't drive like that, the tires won't hold up."

Wu Shi was considering his next strategy, and he believed the team was doing the same.

At that moment, Bottas pressed TR and shouted:

"My engine has stopped producing power."

The 77 Lotus was seen gliding slowly on the track.

"Another engine problem, another car has to be retired from the race!" the soldier smacked his lips.

At this point, Wu Shi set the fastest lap time, 1 minute 55.787 seconds.

Bottas retired from the race immediately because his car was well-positioned and did not even trigger a long yellow flag in the timing section.

During the third lap, Kvyat overtook Eriksen.

On the fourth lap, DRS was activated.

Verstappen, like Kvyat, surpassed Eriksen.

However, Pan Zi utilized DRS, making overtaking even smoother.

The slightly delayed braking allowed them to penetrate directly into the paint, take the lead, and advance to the points zone.

"Max's performance is quite impressive."

"Very efficient."

After the two commentators finished speaking, the camera returned to the front row.

Everyone knows that once DRS is activated, the fiercest battle will still be between the two leading drivers.

Wu Shi ran his best in the first three laps, but he couldn't leave Hamilton out of the 1-second zone.

At this point, he was already facing enormous risks.

The difference between the two was only 0.3 seconds.
"Can you get away from him? The Mercedes' top speed is extremely fast under DRS, making it very difficult to defend against," Jonathan said.

"Yes, but the tires will wear out very badly and may not last more than a few laps."

"Moreover, I don't know how much speed Hamilton is hiding."

To be honest, the old man was half a second faster than him in the qualifying round.

This not only means a half-second difference, but also a difference in tire wear and engine stress.

Hamilton is now following him simply because he's influenced by his rhythm.

If he accelerates, then Hamilton will surely accelerate as well.

His tires would wear out quickly, which wouldn't be a wise move.

When a vehicle is ahead, the lack of performance difference leads to this situation, where even clean air cannot create a gap.

After Wu Shi finished his report, the strategy team immediately began analyzing the new situation.

They wanted to know Hamilton's speed in the Mercedes on a clean lap.

However, the data obtained after the calculation left everyone somewhat speechless.

If Wu Shi keeps running at that pace, he should prepare to pit around the seventh lap!

This would make it possible not only to halt operations twice, but also to halt them three or four times.

Moreover, relying solely on Wu Shi to block the cars is insufficient to stop fast trains on the Spa track.

The difficult decision-making dilemma put immense pressure on everyone, and each person was assigned different strategies for analysis.

The computers at headquarters were also calculating at lightning speed.

Wu Shi had already put up a difficult fight for two rounds.

By the sixth lap, the strategy team had already calculated the optimal strategy.

That's all – saving on tires, nothing else.

Wu Shi, who had not received a reply for a long time, knew that it was unlikely that he would consider anything else.

Then the predictable thing happened: on the super long straight before Turn 5, in the DRS area.

The 0.3-second difference disappeared almost in the blink of an eye.

Soon after, Hamilton outmaneuvered Wu Shi with DRS before Turn 5.

"Oh, those who were surpassed had absolutely no chance to fight back!" The soldier slapped his thigh.

“Once he overtook him, Wu Shi was clearly left behind,” Fei Ge said.

In just half a lap, the difference in time between the two had reached 0.5 seconds.

The only difference is that Hamilton is in front now, and Wu Shi is behind.

This enormous gap undoubtedly makes the drivers sitting in the race car feel suffocated.

Even Wu Shi was somewhat irritated.

If Hamilton can make it that fast, then it's only a matter of time before Rosberg returns to third.

At that point, Rosberg will surely launch an attack on him, just like Hamilton did.

Rosberg is at a disadvantage in the standings and is extremely eager for points, so he will only be more aggressive in attack than Hamilton.

At that moment, a crackling sound of electricity came through the headphones, followed by Jonathan's voice:
"To protect the tires, we need to take Plan B."

"Copy".

Wu Shi responded.

The so-called Plan B is actually just following the lead of others in making decisions.

He entered the station whenever the old man did.

He changed the tire to whatever tire the old man wanted.

Because he didn't have a fierce battle with the old man, his tires are currently in good condition.

Even though Williams tires wear out faster, Wu Shi's tire management skills are unmatched by other drivers, so he was still able to keep up with Hamilton by a few points.

After passing Wu Shi, Hamilton began to accelerate. On the seventh lap, the fastest lap of the previous lap was completed.

It was indeed Hamilton's time: 1 minute 55.322 seconds.

It directly surpassed Wu Shi's fastest lap time by 0.4 seconds.

In that half-lap, Wu Shi was left out of the 1-second zone.

Mercedes' performance is truly terrifying when it's unleashed.

With Wu Shi dropping to second place, the broadcast cameras turned their attention to the other contestants.

Ricciardo's momentary lapse in concentration led to Rosberg and Vettel unsurprisingly overtaking him.

"Rosberg has risen to fourth place, ahead of Perez."

Jonathan told Wu Shi about the situation.

'So fast!'

By lap seven, Rosberg had almost completely made up for the losses from the start.

I wonder if Master Pei can withstand Rosberg's attack.

As his mind was in turmoil, the eighth lap arrived.

After DRS, Jonathan's voice rang out: "Rosberg surpassed Perez."

"Okay, he came really fast."

"Yeah, but don't worry, you're currently leading by 6 seconds."

"Copy".

Wu Shi silently calculated that after the old man pulled away from him for two seconds, his cruising speed was only about 0.3 seconds faster per lap.

If Rosberg keeps chasing at this pace, he'll probably have to do it for quite a few laps.

But clearly, Rosberg will try to get as close as possible before stopping.

That 6-second distance could easily take five or six laps.

We're on the eighth lap now, and in five or six laps, we'll be close to the first stop window.

In addition, Rosberg's tire wear was definitely greater than his.
"You need to be careful with your tires; our tires wear out much faster than Mercedes' on long distances."

He had just thought about the tires when Jonathan, as if he could read minds, explained the tire situation in detail.

"You mean Rosberg's tires might be in better condition than mine?"

"Yes."

Soon, the eighth lap ended.

Perez, who had been overtaken, made a pit stop at the end of the game.

"Half a lap, he closed the gap to you by 0.3 seconds," Jonathan's voice rang out again.

“It’s within acceptable limits,” Wu Shi replied.

After a brief exchange, the match continued.

“Perez has been fitted with soft tires, an old set of soft tires,” Jonathan said.

"Copy".

Perez was a front-row driver at this race, so his tire changes and data are somewhat relevant.

Besides Perez, Alonso also pitted to change tires.

Jonathan did not inform Wu Shi of this situation.

On the ninth lap, Massa was hampered by his vehicle, and his long-distance speed disadvantage became apparent.

He was being relentlessly pursued by Verstappen at this point.

So before he'd even finished half a lap, he couldn't help but ask in TR:
When do we arrive at the station?

The team responded immediately, shouting, "BOX BOX BOX!"

Massa's pit stop once again highlighted the difference between the two Westbrook drivers.

“Rosberg closed the gap by 0.6 seconds on the last lap, but he lost his momentum in the second half,” Jonathan added.

"Copy".

Wu Shi was slow to prepare; his tires were also severely worn.

Hamilton's tire condition ahead was bottomless, and it was impossible to know how many laps he would have to complete.

Immediately afterwards, the Kvyat experienced a massive lock-up, demonstrating severe understeer in the vehicle.

At the end of the ninth lap, a group of riders entered the pits.

From front to back, they are Grosjean, Kvyat, Massa, Verstappen, and Eriksson.

So far, almost all of the top ten drivers have pitted.

"Can Wu Shi keep up? He seems to have slowed down considerably," the soldier said with some concern.

"I think it depends on Rosberg's performance. If Rosberg catches up quickly, then Wu Shi should enter the station earlier. If he catches up slowly, then he can run a few more laps," Fei Ge said.

As they were talking, the tenth lap ended, and Rosberg closed the gap by one second.

Clearly, Rosberg's tires still had some spare capacity.

Wu Shi's lead has dwindled to less than 4 seconds.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was still running with his head down, and had already opened up a 4-second gap.

"BOX BOX BOX!"

Jonathan shouted immediately after entering the latter part of lap eleven.

"Copy".

Wu Shi could no longer maintain his speed, so he had to enter the station.

He arrived at the station at a time that was neither too early nor too late, but just right in the middle.

"Wu Shi is entering the station now!" the soldier said.

“Rosberg is chasing too fast, he has to go into the station,” Fei said.

"What did the team mean by Plan B just now?"

"Is it possible that there was actually no plan, and they just talked about it casually?" Fei Ge laughed.

Kimi and Barton were also among those who joined the station in the same circle.

Tire change in 3.3 seconds.

Since there was no driver in front to refer to, they switched to medium tires.

For the second stint, Wu Shi wanted to push himself for a few more laps. The soft tires were very fast, so using them last could prevent any unexpected situations.

After exiting the station, he fell behind Vettel, blocking Ricciardo for two seconds.

The train entered the station without any problems, and the position where the card was ejected was just right.

Now there's nothing interesting in the front row; everyone's just cruising.

On the contrary, after his tire change, the Mavericks' Verstappen is now competing with Nasr for eleventh place.

Verstappen cut inside at Turn 14 and then came out of the corner very quickly.

Surprisingly, it was almost perfectly synchronized with Nasr.

This gave Pan Zi a fundamental advantage in the paint.

Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, after being squeezed by Nasr, Verstappen directly pressed down on one side of the buffer zone to continue to keep the game even with Nasr.

Nasr's actions could easily have drawn a penalty, so he simply squeezed in and immediately moved aside.

Verstappen immediately returned to the track at a very high speed.

Before Turn 15, Nasr was about to brake when he saw white smoke rising from Verstappen's left.

This guy is braking way too late again!
However, they did manage to get into the bend.

Nasr was overtaken by a younger generation right before his eyes.

Exiting corners is also one of Verstappen's strengths; he can quickly align himself with the direction of acceleration and then slam on the gas.

hum!
Verstappen cleared the way!

A brilliant breakthrough.

At the end of lap 12, Rosberg couldn't take it anymore and had to pit for tires.

It took 3.3 seconds to switch to a neutral tire.

Clearly, Mercedes' strategy this time was inspired by Williams.

After all, once he was released, Rosberg would be chasing Wu Shi.

In fact, Rosberg had already closed the gap by more than a second during the first lap outside.

As for what will happen after switching to neutral tires, we'll have to run a couple of laps to find out.

Hamilton pitted on lap 13.

It takes 2.4 seconds to switch to a neutral tire.

Now only Vettel is still outside.

Although the old man built a 14-second lead, he was still overtaken by Vettel after the break.

He also had to change tires because Wu Shi was going too fast.

When he came out, Vettel had just driven by, followed by Wu Shi.

If he had changed tires any slower, he probably would have been overtaken by Wu Shi when he came out!

In other words, Wu Shi saw Hamilton, who had just come out.

Will those two start arguing?!

The explanation addressed everyone's questions.

It seems that Wu Shi would always go and fight whenever this situation arose in a match.

Perhaps because Wu Shi was right behind him, Hamilton, who had just come out, floored the accelerator, and the rear of the car slid a little.

Although Wu Shi had ideas, his ideals were lofty while reality was stark.

(End of this chapter)