F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 248 The Only Strategic Possibility
Hamilton didn't hesitate for long this time and replied directly: "Copy".

He still understands the current situation.

Wu Shi was far ahead, so even if his teammate got second place in the end, it would still be better for them than for Wu Shi.

That way he can close the 10-point gap at this station, which is very important.

But then again, his lead over his teammates wasn't that much.

If Rosberg is allowed to pass easily, then he may face attacks from his teammates.

For him, the best-case scenario is that Wu Shi and Rosberg fight to the bitter end, until they both withdraw from the competition.

Just like the two cars that withdrew from the race before, along with Rosberg and Wu Shi.

Of the three of them, only Wu Shi and Rosberg have not withdrawn from the competition, and they have been paired up in pairs.

So, he decided to take a shortcut.

Wu Shi could clearly feel Hamilton accelerating.

He had to keep up.

He knew that once he was outmaneuvered by the old man and lost DRS, it was only a matter of time before he was surpassed by Rosberg.

However, forcing yourself to keep up will cause significant wear and tear on the tires.

He had to calculate silently in his mind.

The lifespan of a soft tire is 12-15 laps.

In other words, this set of white tires should last until at least 28 laps.

There are about 5 more laps to go.
Can you persevere and achieve it?

It will be difficult if Hamilton continues to increase his speed.

If not, then there are still some possibilities.

With DRS, Williams' speed on the straights is comparable to Mercedes'.

If you miss the chance to overtake on the straightaway, the price you'll have to pay to finish off your opponent in the curves will be much higher.

I persevered for two more laps and made it to lap 25.

“Lewis introduced you to this,” Jonathan said.

As Wu Shi drove his DRS along the starting straight, he noticed that the old man ahead of him was taking a different line than before when he was going through turn 1.

The differences are so subtle that most people wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Will it be slow?

Wu Shi seemed to have grasped some of the meaning.

Hamilton probably doesn't want Rosberg to threaten him easily.

But wouldn't being the second one be even more disadvantageous for the old man?

Wu Shi couldn't quite figure it out, but since the old man had kept a trick up his sleeve, he was determined to take advantage of it.

On the straight after Turn 1, three cars sped past the DRS inspection point.

Just after the timer went off, Jonathan said, "You have gained access to DRS. The parity of the detection point is 0.981."

It was extremely dangerous, but with this DRS, making it through this lap was not a problem at all.

Wu Shi's mindset at this time was very straightforward: he wanted to endure as many rounds as possible.

The longer he stays ahead, the more damage it will do to Rosberg.

However, after the 25th lap, the situation was still the same as before.

That's when Rosberg noticed something was wrong.

How many laps has the race been restarted? Can't you, Lewis, close this small gap?!
"Why does Wu Shi still have Lewis's DRS? Has he not yet mastered it?"

Rosberg directly questioned him in TR.

There was a moment of silence on the team's end before they said in the TR, "We've already told Lewis to get away as soon as possible."

After saying that, the radio was cut off.

"Haha, these three are really having a complicated relationship now!" the soldier laughed.

Fei Ge chuckled twice, then began to analyze the situation seriously:
"From Hamilton's perspective, he should have led them away."

"You should know that Wu Shi is currently leading the standings. The lower Wu Shi's ranking goes, the sooner Hamilton will return to the top of the standings."

"Hamilton's targeting of Rosberg will not only affect his relationship with the team, but frankly, it is also very detrimental to his chances of winning the championship."

The soldier also began to think and asked, "What are the disadvantages?"

"Judging from the first half of the season, who poses a greater threat to him, Rosberg or Wu Shi?"

"Hmm." The soldier didn't give an answer immediately, and after thinking for a moment, he said:

"It should be Wu Shi."

“Right?” Fei clapped his hands and said:
"In our opinion, Rosberg would have a very difficult time beating Hamilton."

"Given the situation brought back by the first two, could Rosberg find a way to target him? No."

"And if he gets too close to Wu Shi, Wu Shi will always want to mess with him."

Fei Ge's words made a lot of sense, and Bing Ge nodded repeatedly.

But after a moment of seriousness, he suddenly smiled and said:
"That's a rational analysis from Hamilton's perspective. From Wu Shi's perspective, that's exactly how it should be!"

"Haha! That's true!"

However, the two had only been laughing for a short while.

On lap 26, Hamilton noticeably increased his speed.

By lap 27, Wu Shi had lost all of his DRS.

The two of them stopped laughing.

This time, the soldier reacted quickly and said:

“I know Hamilton’s plans.”

"What?" Fei asked.

“After dragging Rosberg around a few times, he’ll pull away, and Rosberg won’t be able to catch up,” the soldier said decisively.

A professional commentator must be willing to make judgments.

This time, the soldier really showed his professionalism.

Hamilton certainly thought so.

On lap 27, Wu Shi was overtaken by Rosberg on the straight after Turn 1.

After the 2nd to 4th turns, Rosberg immediately activated DRS.

Without DRS, Wu Shi was in a very passive position, and even with all the power on, he couldn't stop Rosberg from getting close at full speed.

Wu Shi knew there was a carriage behind him.

The front wing of this car is so close to its rear wheel.

When the distance between the two shrinks to a certain limit.

Wu Shi knew that, according to Rosberg's usual practice this season, he would be taking a cut.

Left or right?

The airflow changes significantly on the left side of the tail.

Go left!
Wu Shi instinctively followed, but in that instant, the airflow on the left cleared up a bit, and something happened on the right!

OK!

Rosberg is engaging in fraudulent lane changes!
Wu Shi reacted much earlier than he saw the situation in the rearview mirror.

So, on the straight road, the helicopter captured this scene from above.

Rosberg first moved slightly to the left, and the race car in front of him seemed to be glued to him, also moving slightly to the left.

But the next moment, Rosberg veered completely to the right.

The car in front, which had previously moved to the left, seemed to be feigning a move, and suddenly veered to the right as well.

At this point, Rosberg had drastically changed course, making it impossible for him to return to the left side.

Therefore, he could only move as far to the right as possible, since he had maneuvered earlier.

At a speed of over 300 kph, this difference is enough for him to create a passable gap laterally on the track.

But this gap isn't enough!

Wu Shi's right rear wheel blocked him, and then he braked into the turn.

Rosberg's front wing almost collided directly, so he braked much harder than Wu Shi!
Heh!

The consequences of offensive errors are severe.

Wu Shi navigated Turn 5 with ease, while Rosberg's sudden braking disrupted his rhythm as he entered the corner.

The difference between the two has narrowed to 0.7 seconds.

"Well, we can't just say Rosberg was too hasty, can we?" The soldier felt it was difficult to comment.

"Does Wu Shi have eyes in his butt? How come he seems to be moving in sync with Rosberg?" Fei Ge asked in surprise.

Compared to the relatively calm explanations given by the two domestic commentators.

David did indeed get excited:

"Excellent defense! Wu Shi's defensive instincts are godlike!"
"Incredible, such a near-synchronous change of direction defense!"
"That's amazing! I really want to know how Wu Shi did it!"

The series of exclamations also kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

The broadcast was immediately replayed.

Now, spectators in all sections of the stadium can also see this overhead shot on the big screen.

The two cars look like they're stuck together.

"When the advantage of a pull-up is not absolute, the driver behind will induce the car in front to change lanes, so that the car in front can give up a better racing space."

"This trick is very easy to work."

"Because the driver behind has already planned what to do, while the driver in front has no room to think during the subsequent maneuvers."

"So the driver in the front row is either tricked by the other side."

"Either remain unmoved, or let those behind squeeze in."

"And Wu Shi's reaction"

David was speechless for a moment.

This attack and defense was indeed exciting, but it also carried hidden risks of violating regulations.

But is Wu Shi capable of changing lanes multiple times?

Is the space left by Wu Shi large enough for a car to pass through?
These are details that even a professional explainer wouldn't be able to figure out in a short time.

We can only wait for the FIA's announcement.

In fact, the sporting directors of Mercedes and Williams had already been communicating with F1 race director Charlie Whiting.

On the track, Rosberg was furious after failing to overtake and simply cursed in the TR.

Bono remained calm about Rosberg's situation and explained it to Hamilton with composure. Hamilton's reaction was also interesting, replying in TR:

"How could he be so careless? Wu Shi is very difficult to deal with. Please tell Nico that when attacking, you must have an absolute advantage, otherwise you will just be entangled."

“Okay, I’ll pass it on to him,” Bono replied helplessly.

But he certainly wouldn't tell Rosberg, wouldn't that upset his teammates?

On lap 27, Rosberg could only chase again.

This time, he approached Wu Shi from behind on the DRS on the starting straight, but did not immediately launch an attack.

After passing Turn 1, I controlled the slipstream and drove at full throttle through Turn 4. After activating DRS, the tail speed was significantly higher, and then I launched my attack.

This time, Wu Shi was powerless to stop it.

Rosberg faced a situation where the speed increased shortly after DRS was activated.

All he could do was block the route, leaving only a car's width of space on the right.

Rosberg kept the car steady and sped past with a "whoosh".

The grass clippings on the right were all kicked up.

Clearly, if he moved any further to the right, Rosberg would be outside the white line.

"Oh! Wu Shi still couldn't hold onto his position."

"The gap is too big. Even after the turn on the straight, you can't catch up. Mercedes is fast everywhere on this track!"

"What a pity about the advantage we gained earlier. Mercedes' medium tires are an advantage that other teams don't have!"

"There's nothing we can do about it. If the vehicle's performance were better, it might have been able to put up a fight, but Mercedes' optimizations after the summer break are clearly very good."

Bingge and Feige are both veteran commentators, and while they felt sorry for them, they knew there wasn't much else to say.

It was only a matter of time before Rosberg took over, long before Hamilton returned.

Just look at how Rosberg easily dispatched the others and that's enough to tell you.

"Getting to the podium is pretty good, and we're still leading the leaderboard after the results are tallied," the soldier said.

"Then we can only look forward to the next stop."

"Monza? It's also a strong track for Mercedes."

"Think of it this way: it's a track where Mercedes has an advantage, and it's also a track where Williams has an advantage."

"Haha, I still hope that a track like Monaco is better. It was such a pity that Wu Shi did such a close lap there before."

"Oh yes, on tracks where engine and aerodynamics have less of an impact, Wu Shi's car control advantage will be very significant."

As the two talked, the race reached lap 28.

After overtaking Wu Shi, Rosberg desperately tried to increase his speed.

However, Wu Shi still received the final dose of DRS.

It wasn't until lap 29 that the gap between the two widened to more than a second.

At this point, Wu Shi's medium tires had completed 18 laps, while Rosberg's had completed 17 laps.

After speeding at high intensity, the speed of this set of neutral tires has decreased.

When tire performance deteriorates significantly, both Rosberg and Hamilton are noticeably slower in corners than before.

Wu Shi was naturally greatly affected as well. His only advantage was that he was able to make better use of the broken old tires.

Many drivers experience a loss of rhythm once their tires begin to wear out.

After all, grip changes every lap, so their best course of action is to control their speed and avoid pushing their limits.

“Nico Rosberg didn’t get ahead of you quickly, and now you’re 1.6 seconds behind,” Jonathan said.

"Am I only able to rank third?" Wu Shi asked directly.

Rosberg not keeping his distance doesn't mean he can catch up.

“We’re considering how long your current tires can last,” Jonathan asked.

“At least 5 laps, how long do you expect me to keep going?” Wu Shi asked rhetorically.

After 5 laps, the tires were rendered useless after 23 laps of torture.

It can still be driven, but the speed will decrease very quickly.

Of course, the most important thing is that the risk of a tire blowout was very high at that time, and Wu Shi could not completely control the risk of a tire blowout while maintaining speed.

However, if you can't maintain speed, the consequences of whether or not you have a tire blowout are almost the same.

After a brief conversation, the strategy team began calculating the final possibilities.

If Rosberg switches to new soft tires after 30 laps, what will be the time difference between the two players per lap?

The final conclusion is at least 1-2 seconds.

The starting lineup is not consistent enough.

Now, assuming Wu Shi switched to the new soft tires, how much of a difference in speed would he gain?

That's pretty much the answer.

The strategy team realized that Wu Shi would have to get to the station first to have any chance of success.

Use the new soft tires to widen the gap as much as possible.

Starting a lap early gives you the advantage of being able to run an extra lap.

If Wu Shi enters the station, Rosberg will definitely enter immediately.

When the new Yellow War comes, won't it be just like the previous New White War?

What are the variables on the field?

Hamilton was still in the lead at this point, with a 4-second gap between him and Rosberg, who was in second place.

Wu Shi is third, 1.6 seconds behind Rosberg, and is expected to extend that lead to 2 seconds after another lap, 5.6 seconds behind Hamilton.

Vettel, relying on his stop-and-go strategy, had moved up to fourth place, but was a full 28.5 seconds behind Hamilton.

In other words, even if Wu Shi, who is in third place, enters the station at this time, he will still be ahead of Vettel when he comes out.

These drivers no longer pose a threat to the race for the top three.

At this moment, Nasr, in 14th place, was 95.7 seconds behind Hamilton.

It was the only slow car that might obstruct the first three people after the tire change.

But a slow train won't affect the overall situation, since it's not like the directors or science directors are sitting inside.

There are too many things to consider, and all the planning is in vain.

Wu Shi, who was in the car, had already made up his mind after not discussing with Jonathan for long.

He turned an unidentified button on the steering wheel.

This rotation mark indicates that he needs to make a stop on this lap.

At this point, more than half of the 29 laps had been completed. Once the new yellow lap was put on, it would be time to run 14 more laps.

Will Rosberg follow suit?
Let Mercedes handle it; he needs to establish an advantage right from the start!

Pull out the maximum lap with the cold tires!

There is wine today, drunk today, and tomorrow will be sad.

No matter how many seconds, it can still block a few laps.

Because it was a secret emergency pit stop, the team only started preparing the tires at the last minute.

Jonathan instructed the engineers around him to keep an eye on things and make sure they didn't mix up the tires.

"Wu Shi is about to enter the station!"

The broadcast camera focused on Williams' pit room, simultaneously giving Toto a close-up.

Will Rosberg be required to enter the station at the same time as Wu Shi, since he is ahead of Wu Shi?

After waiting for about 5 seconds, Mercedes did not send out a TR pass.

They had already lost their chance to make a decision and tacitly agreed not to proceed, because it was too late to prepare at this point.

call!
A moment later, Wu Shi drove into the repair area.

“Rosberg was one lap behind Wu Shi at the first stop, so it was a suitable strategy for him to be one lap behind at the second stop as well,” Bing Ge said.

“Suitable doesn’t necessarily mean better. What if Wu Shi came out much faster? Then Rosberg would have to chase after him again?” Fei Ge retorted.

"Then you need to consider whether the new yellow tires can finish the rest of the race."

The soldier shook his head and pointed out the point that Fei had overlooked:

"Through the competition on the white tires just now, we have seen that Rosberg, with the tires on a new lap, is no longer able to easily pull away from Wu Shi when he is at the back of the track."

"If both of them switch to yellow tires on the same lap, will Rosberg face tire problems towards the end of the race?"

Fei Ge chuckled and countered, "So, does that mean the suspense surrounding their competition will continue until the end of the match?"

"I didn't say that," the soldier waved his hand before replying.
"The battle with the white tires was due to Hamilton's DRS. Will the final battle with the yellow tires be the same?"

Although the two had a general feeling that Wu Shi could only finish third, he was, after all, a driver from their own country, and neither wanted to admit that the result was already decided before the official race results were announced.

Click!

2.8 seconds.

After changing the tires, the No. 59 Williams sped into the fast lane.

The new yellow tire feels great.

Wu Shi drove onto the track and accelerated recklessly on the straightaway.

"Speed ​​on this lap is crucial."

Everyone who's still following the battle for second place knows this.

The problem now lies with Mercedes.

Based solely on the data from the first two timing segments and a few smaller timing segments, could they really make the decision to pit Rosberg at the end of lap 30?
zizi.

The Mercedes' TR chimed: "Nico, how are the tires feeling? Wu Shi has already switched to the new soft tires."

zizi.

A moment later, Rosberg said on the straight after Turn 15:

"I feel like I can still run."

"OK, we will stop at the next station."

Rosberg cut off the TR and didn't bother to explain why he said he would pit on the next lap when he could pit on this lap.

Until he saw Hamilton go in first.

A surge of joy filled his heart; was this the team making room for him to push with all his might?

However, about ten seconds after he crossed the finish line, the Mercedes TR sounded:

“You need to push with all your might; Wu Shi is 2.6 seconds faster than you on the lap.”

"WHAT? Why wouldn't they let me into the station?! Why did I have to run around outside like this?!"

"Feel sorry."

(End of this chapter)