F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 249 Tire Blowout!
Williams was overjoyed to see that Mercedes had recalled Hamilton first.

If you can be 2.6 seconds faster on the first lap, then you could be 3 seconds faster on the next lap, and 3.5 seconds faster on the lap after that!
Because the condition of the tires keeps improving in the first few laps, and the driver's adaptability to the new tires is also gradually increasing.

What Williams didn't know was that Wu Shi's adaptation period was much shorter than that of the other drivers.

Therefore, it's a bit of a stretch to be 3.5 seconds faster.

"Mercedes' radio is really interesting. Isn't this just messing with Rosberg?"

"Yeah, why bring this up?"

Mercedes' handling of delivering bad news to Rosberg in TR was baffling.

Although, from the perspective of team operations and strategy, it is necessary to inform the drivers of the situation.

Mercedes' unusual decision was understandable to the commentators.

Before entering the station, Wu Shi and Hamilton were less than 6 seconds apart.

Wu Shi can make up for about two seconds in one lap. If Hamilton had entered the pits two laps later, he might have fallen behind Wu Shi when he came out.

This is something that Mercedes cannot accept at all right now.

They're not going to take any more risks; they have to win the World Drivers' Championship!
In fact, this decision was correct.

Whether Wu Shi will be inspired to relentlessly pursue this matter remains to be seen.

The champion and runner-up had different appeals to Wu Shi.

If Wu Shi persists in his pursuit, could it lead to unexpected events in the competition?
For example, it could trigger a red or yellow flag or something.

Keep in mind that Vettel, who had just stopped, was in fourth place at that moment.

Given the opportunity, Vettel will definitely pit for soft tires.

At that time, Mercedes will face even greater risks.

In conclusion, the situation should not be complicated.

Click!

3.1 seconds.

The tire change was a bit slow.

Hamilton couldn't wait to burn off his tires and speed onto the fast lane after changing tires.

As he exited the station, the camera captured Wu Shi speeding along the straight road.

A sense of oppression descended upon the Mercedes-Benz crew members watching the race.

Swish!
Hamilton still had the advantage of 6 seconds from before, and no matter how amazing Wu Shi was, he couldn't catch up.

"Lewis, your time difference with Wu Shi is 2.9 seconds. Try to keep up as much as possible."

"Copy, has Nicon not entered the station yet?"

"No."

"Copy".

After a brief exchange, Hamilton calmed down.

The tires were cold on the starting lap, and after one lap, the time difference between him and Wu Shi actually narrowed further to 2.4 seconds.

This is enough to show that it wasn't a calculation error on everyone's part, but rather that Wu Shi's appearance circle was simply too extraordinary.

He was so incredible that he was faster than Hamilton in the starting lap – something Mercedes couldn't have predicted.

That incredible lap will definitely become data for all the teams to study after the race.

No team wants to make a strategic mistake by underestimating Wu Shi again.

However, good news has arrived for Mercedes.

That concludes Wu Shi's approach to Hamilton.

Once the tires warmed up, Hamilton quickly picked up speed and was no longer being overtaken.

At the end of lap 31, Rosberg pitted, and when he came out, he was naturally behind Wu Shi.

The difference is a full 5.5 seconds!
Hamilton and Wu Shi's lap times on lap 31 were not significantly different, which attracted attention.

The former is 1 minute 52.507 seconds.

The latter's time was 1 minute 52.501 seconds.

The strategist at the Mercedes command wall frowned. How could they keep up so closely?

Is the yellow-tire Williams really that much faster than the white-tire one?
I didn't notice it in the first stint.
The strategist compared and analyzed the telemetry data from Wu Shi's several laps.

Finally, the conclusion was reached.

Wu Shi's running style at this time puts a lot of pressure on the tires, meaning it's not a sustainable running style.

However, when watching Wu Shi's two laps of telemetry, the strategist couldn't help but be amazed, just like during every post-game review.

The first lap line goes without saying, but the exit lap will inevitably be different due to tire temperature.

However, after running halfway through the first lap, the route perfectly matched the route of the next lap.

Anyone who has driven a race car knows that evaluating a driver involves more than just looking at their fastest lap time; it also requires assessing their stability over long distances.

Someone like Wu Shi, who can run two laps without any fluctuations, is less a person running and more a machine running by inputting a string of data.

Too precise entry and exit from curves, too precise adjustment of straightaway positions, and too precise use of road shoulders.

It's simply a perfect work of art.

He stopped his own reflection and told Hamilton:
“Lewis, keep going for one more lap. We need to see if Wu Shi can keep up.”

The strategist wanted to induce Wu Shi to increase tire consumption, which would also give Rosberg more opportunities.

"Copy".

When it came to his own safety, Hamilton didn't hesitate at all; in fact, he even wanted to accelerate even faster.

Getting rid of Wu Shi, that annoying pest, as soon as possible is what he wants to do most.

Compared to the information obtained by the team's strategy group, the commentators' perspective was much more limited.

All they know is that Wu Shi undercut Rosberg.

"Mercedes-Benz is in trouble now."

"Wow, Williams' new yellow tires are here so fast?"

"You should say that Wu Shixin's new embryonic development was too rapid!"

"We need to observe for another lap to see whether Wu Shi is desperately widening the gap, or whether he can maintain this speed for several laps."

On lap 32, Rosberg's out-of-bounds lap time was 1 minute 54.1 seconds.

Wu Shi slowed down, finishing in 1 minute and 52.8 seconds.

"Another 1.3 seconds!"

At this point, the time difference between the two players had increased to 6.8 seconds.

While everyone was still wondering why Rosberg was moving so slowly, the replay footage came on.

Rosberg locked up at Turn 5, affecting his cornering rhythm in the following corners.

"Under such immense pressure, the difference is just too obvious!"

"Yes, he seems like a rookie, while Wu Shi seems like a veteran."

The situation on the track immediately prompted the commentators to start commenting on Wu Shi and Rosberg.

Because of these three laps, Wu Shi widened the gap between himself and Rosberg by a significant margin.

Catching up to this won't be a matter of just a few laps.

Therefore, the commentators were able to give extensive evaluations of the two.

"Wu Shi doesn't seem to be very nervous, and he has never made such a big mistake in his operation."

"Yes, at least that's how it is this season. He's so consistent, it reminds me of Kimi."

"He must have a very strong mind."

“Oh, I remember now, Verstappen shared some information about Wu Shi.”

"Oh! That Instagram post after the British Grand Prix, right? I remember Verstappen saying something like Wu Shi got a leg cramp because he was so nervous?"

"Yes, it seems that after the match, Verstappen went to find Wu Shi to celebrate, but was turned away. He then learned that Wu Shi was taking an ice bath."

"Yes, and there was also the pre-match tour interview, where Verstappen said that Wu Shi would complain to him that Mercedes was too fast and the pressure was too great."

Their words and actions revealed a lot of information that domestic audiences might not know.

"Wu Shi also bore a tremendous amount of pressure!"

"Who doesn't feel pressure in the paddock?"

The two were silent.

It's difficult to understand the pressure environment that many F1 drivers experience without actually joining an F1 team.

The team, teammates, rivals, fans, sponsors—everyone is watching you.

Even the slightest mistake or lag will immediately trigger a barrage of negative comments.

For example, at the Hungarian leg before the summer break, Wu Shi finished the race for the first time but did not stand on the podium, which immediately drew a lot of criticism.

In that match, Wu Shi rarely admitted that he had made a mistake that caused him to lose his position.

It's worth noting that before, Wu Shi would only say that he had done his best.

Did Wu Shi blame himself afterward?
Was it affected that you recalled your mistakes during this competition?
These are things that outsiders would never know.

"I've heard that Hamilton attends some fashion shows during match week as a way for him to release stress."

On the field, Kvyat was playing very aggressively and had already caught up with Kimi.

Meanwhile, Vettel's lap times continued to decline, and Grosjean behind him seemed to see an opportunity to overtake.

前排这边，汉密尔顿领跑的圈速稳定在了1分52秒6-52秒9的样子。

Wu Shi's lap time has dropped slightly to 1 minute and 53 seconds, and then stabilized there.

Clearly, those three incredibly fast laps were not the norm.

On the contrary, Rosberg's efforts were noticed by everyone.

After two laps, he ran a time of 1 minute 52.416 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest lap of the entire event.

Then it stabilized at 1 minute 52.5 seconds.

He was the only person in the front row who maintained a consistent lap time.

"Is this like squeezing the tires dry?" the soldier said.

"It's closing the gap by about 0.4 to 0.7 seconds per lap. Can that catch up with Wu Shi?" Fei Ge counted on his fingers.

On lap 37, Kvyat overtook Kimi.

At this point, the difference between Wu Shi and Rosberg's time had narrowed to 3.4 seconds.

There were only six laps left in the race.

“Nico closed the gap to you by 0.6 seconds on the last lap. 0.6 seconds, and your speed has dropped by another 0.1 seconds,” Jonathan reminded him.

Wu Shi was already able to see Rosberg in the rearview mirror from the straight road.

He pushed the tires too hard when he came out, and at this point the tires were indeed worn out more than expected.

If it weren't for the fact that Williams vehicles have slightly better tire wear when lightly loaded with fuel.

His speed will drop even more drastically.

0.5 seconds per lap is already an optimistic estimate.

He estimated that Rosberg would enter his one-second zone around the penultimate lap. Could he withstand two laps?

Now that he's far from any village and there are no slow trains blocking his way, he doesn't even have a chance to borrow a DRS (Diverterless Rail Transit) device.

In a formal confrontation, everything depends on oneself.

While he awaited the final moment, Grosjean was also closing in on Vettel on the other side.

On lap 40, Rosberg arrived faster than expected.

Wu Shi and Rosberg are 1.1 seconds apart, and the suspense of who will finish on the podium will soon be revealed.

At this point, the difference between Grosjean and Vettel narrowed to 0.7 seconds, and the battle for fourth place would begin first.

Susu!

On lap 41, Wu Shi and Rosberg were 0.8 seconds apart, with the latter already incurring a DRS (Driving Speed ​​Restriction) on the starting straight.

After Turn 4, Wu Shi drove into the DRS area first, followed closely by Rosberg.

The Mercedes has a top speed of 352 kph, while Wu Shi's is only 323 kph.

DRS is terrifying.

In an instant, the gap between the two narrowed to 0.6 seconds.

Meanwhile, Perez was overtaken by Kvyat.

On the other side, Grosjean launched an attack on Vettel.

In the same DRS zone, Grosjean followed closely behind Vettel.

The Ferrari's top speed barely reaches 315 kph.

Powered by a Mercedes engine, Grosjean achieved an astonishing top speed of 348 kph with DRS activated!

The difference in seconds between the two players narrowed from 0.6 seconds to 0.2 seconds.

Grosjean immediately pulled away, but Vettel attacked the corner earlier.

The time is not right to overtake!
Grosjean returned to the rear.

However, after this chase, Grosjean is now able to launch attacks in various places!
The struggle will continue.

However, once entering the bend, Ferrari's aerodynamic advantage became apparent.

Vettel slightly widened the gap between the two, bringing it back to 0.46 seconds, and there was a tendency for the gap to gradually widen.

"Wow! This is the Vettel Ferrari! Grosjean still can't catch up!"

As the soldier was speaking, at the end, the time difference between the two of them was actually increased to a full 0.9 seconds.

"It seems that Vettel has secured fourth place. In the last few laps, Grosjean will have no chance to overtake Vettel."

Seeing that there was nothing interesting to watch here, the broadcast camera immediately turned to Wu Shi and Rosberg, at which point the difference between the two was 0.636 seconds.

After turning turn 19, the race officially entered lap 42, the penultimate lap.

The battle for second place is now on.

On the starting straight, Rosberg activated his DRS, and the two closed the gap to 0.125 seconds.

At turn 1, Wu Shi pulled away by less than 0.1 seconds.

As they entered the straightaway, Rosberg, with his wake, continued to close the gap.

Turns 2-4: Both cars sped past, completely pressing against the shoulder at the apex of the bend.

Swish!

dusty.

The straight road is right in front of us.

Rosberg DRS activated, and the engine accelerated at top speed.

Wu Shi stared intently at the road ahead, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

Rosberg withdrew!
But is this distance enough?
Enough! Yet not enough!
Wu Shi left just enough width for one car on the center line.

He's forcing Rosberg to make a mistake!
But Rosberg, caught up in the moment, drove precisely onto the only available road.

Wu Shi's gaze was now fixed solely on Turn 5.

Rosberg had a rough estimate of his extreme late braking path.

Heh!

He can't get through it!
As in the previous race, Rosberg took the lead late, but Wu Shi regained the lead after a turn.

After the lines crossed, both sides returned to their previous positions.

On the next two turns, Wu Shi made use of every available space on the track to maneuver.

Rosberg's offensive style disrupts his own rhythm.

After exiting the corner, the two players separated slightly.

Rosberg's offense was still quite effective, narrowing the gap between the two players to about 0.4 seconds!
For the next long lap, the competition consisted mainly of cornering, and Rosberg had no opportunity to attack.

Suddenly, the broadcast camera focused on Vettel.

Vettel's Ferrari was seen driving along the edge of the straight, with rubber splattering from its right rear side.

A tire burst!
Vettel had a flat tire!

Jonathan's instinctive reaction upon seeing this was to say to Wu Shi:

"Vettel has a tire blowout, Vettel has a tire blowout, watch your tires! It's not expected to cause track control issues."

Although the Vettel's tire blew out, the vehicle was still drivable and did not become a roadblock, so it did not trigger a yellow flag or similar event.

With his right rear tire gone, Vettel was unable to control the vehicle and could only resort to a "watermelon-cutting" maneuver.

Immediately afterwards, one race car after another overtook him.

Vettel's superior skills allowed him to maintain control of the car.

Just after Vettel's tire blowout, the camera returned to Wu Shi and Rosberg on the other side.

These two were locked in a battle of wits and courage throughout the entire track.

Rosberg followed slightly closer on the long straight after Turn 15, but was pulled away in the second half of the race.

After exiting the corner, the FW37's acceleration to top speed was slightly inferior, but when entering high-speed corners, Wu Shi's handling widened the gap between the two.

And so, after turn 19, the two were 0.53 seconds apart.

Rosberg will inevitably launch an attack as before; will it work this time?
Everyone stared intently at the broadcast screen.

On the starting straight, Rosberg made a U-turn, but Wu Shi did not react at all.

The line-changing scam did not work.

Wu Shi naturally turned into Turn 1, with Rosberg following closely behind.

The subsequent steep downhill ride did not elicit any attention from Wu Shi regarding the strange feeling of weightlessness.

Rush to the top of the hill, pass the shoulders of curves 2 and 3, and enter the straight road.

Whoosh!

The two vehicles crashed into the final DRS zone.

In the camera lens facing directly ahead, the air churns and ripples due to the heat wave.

Rosberg didn't completely bury the car behind Wu Shi, but veered slightly to the right.

Clearly, Rosberg isn't going to play games anymore!
0.4 seconds!
DRS is enabled.

Whoosh!

Wu Shi saw the race car getting closer and closer in the rearview mirror.

Having fought the entire match, how could he not know that this was a blatant performance superiority?

Sizzle! ...

The two vehicles left trails of flames behind them.

The two cars are side by side before the braking zone at Turn 5.

Wu Shi actually braked a little too early.

Rosberg braked very late, trying to finish off Wu Shi at Turn 5.

Braking earlier slowed Wu Shi down a bit, but it gave him more space to enter the corner.

Before the car had even fully turned, the accelerator had already been pressed quite a bit.

Chi Chi!

A slight spin of the rear wheels propelled the vehicle to turn faster and enter the corner.

Roar!
The moment the grip was perfect for acceleration, Wu Shi floored the accelerator.

That press of the accelerator immediately helped him align with the desired line before Rosberg even turned the corner.

But this time, Rosberg was very close to him, so he caught up very quickly.

Amidst the white smoke rising from the rubber rubbing against the pavement, Rosberg burst out and quickly cut inside at Turn 6.

You must!

Wu Shi sensed the presence but showed no fear.

The car's steering into the corner was fluid and seamless, completely pressing against Rosberg.

Rosberg, however, was not afraid. He already knew that Wu Shi's driving style was very similar to that of his teammate.

If you give in to him, he'll take advantage of you!

Therefore, we cannot allow it!

Wu Shi is leading the standings now, not him!

Who is afraid of whom!
Rosberg had practiced this psychological game countless times before the match even started.

Therefore, at this moment, he truly remained unmoved.

Wu Shi wasn't aiming for a car crash; he had time to react.

As the airflow approached, he turned the steering wheel back.

Susu!

The two cars jostled each other in the bend and then rushed together toward Turn 7.

After the intersection at Turn 5, Wu Shi was on the right side of the track, giving him a slight inside advantage at Turn 7.

He dared not drive too much on the shoulder of Turn 7, as that would affect his crucial exit from the corner!

Susu!

After a fierce battle in the paint, Wu Shi led by three-quarters of a car length.

Rosberg followed behind, with the front wing right next to his rear wheel.

The two were standing incredibly close.

Unfortunately, due to the close proximity and the lack of a wake, Rosberg did not have a significant speed advantage.

After the straightaway at bend 7, the situation returned to normal.

Wu Shi is still half a step ahead.

　P.S.: All the accidents and pranks in the story, except for those involving the main character, are based on real events or have real-life counterparts. The author doesn't make things up randomly, so Vettel really did have a flat tire! o(╥﹏╥)o! Pirelli, you're so unreliable!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)