F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 253 He had no chance.

The Monza circuit demands a very high level of car setup from drivers; not everyone can provide the sharpest feedback data after completing a high-speed run.

That fleeting feeling requires a great deal of experience to grasp.

Even Wu Shi, during his first practice session, frequently stopped at the pits to find the right direction for his car's tuning.

"How do you feel about the tire pressure?" engineer Mark asked.

"For the sake of the tires, I think the tire pressure should be increased appropriately in the race."

Mark nodded. In fact, Pirelli's recommended minimum tire pressure was already quite high.

Many teams simply use the minimum tire pressure specified by Pirelli throughout the entire race.

The lower the tire pressure, the larger the contact area, which allows the tire to provide more grip when starting the vehicle and also allows the tire to reach operating temperature more quickly.

Therefore, if possible, teams prefer to lower tire pressure during qualifying.

Lowering tire pressure carries very high risks, not to mention the potential for failing tire pressure checks afterward.

Most importantly, low tire pressure causes the tire sidewalls to bear greater force, which can easily lead to a tire blowout.

Especially as tires wear down, the fragility of the tire sidewalls becomes more apparent.

Mark provided several sets of calculated tire pressure values.

After these few laps, Wu Shi will try to find the optimal tire pressure for the race.

On the other side, Massa was also trying to provide feedback.

As a veteran, he has a very deep understanding of Monza and a wealth of experience.

Although these experiences may not necessarily apply to Wu Shi.

However, conducting separate tests on the two cars maximizes the use of practice time.

Massa is currently looking for the optimal camber settings.

The camber angle is set primarily to increase grip when cornering.

A proper camber angle can also distribute the pressure on the platform surface when cornering, thereby extending tire life.

Massa and the engineering team discussed things in the pit room for another ten minutes or so before getting into the car.

After the first training session, Wu Shi had already made a judgment on the tire pressure. Different tire pressures would be used for Q2, Q3, and the main race.

Throughout the entire test, Massa essentially had the engineers add a few shims to the front brake lines to increase the camber angle.

During the second practice session, Wu Shi will further test this data to find the best cornering performance.

Throughout the entire training session, Mercedes continued to dominate the competition.

汉密尔顿以1分24秒670位居第一，罗斯伯格1分25秒133居于第二。

Third is Vettel, with a time of 1 minute 26.258 seconds, a full 1.588 seconds behind Hamilton!
After the practice match, the reporters responsible for the news briefings described it directly in their articles:
"This is a team that's not on the same planet as the rest of the teams."

This angered Toto, who now loathes the paddock praising the performance of Mercedes cars.

During the second training session, Vettel briefly held second place, but ultimately failed to gain any ground against Mercedes.

Neither Williams nor his teammate displayed enough speed, and they struggled to finish in sixth or seventh place.

At this point, both of them were still testing the vehicle's tuning, so the lap time was not of any real significance.

As Wu Shi said in a previous interview, Williams has much more work to do than other teams in order to maintain their lead in the standings.

Mercedes' tuning only needs to reach a comfortable range before you can drive it, since they are inherently fast cars.

Ferrari is not yet in contention for the championship, and the atmosphere within the team is very different from that of Williams.

However, even if they enter the championship contention, Ferrari's internal management problems may prevent them from fully demonstrating their strength.

To achieve even a fraction of a second of improvement per lap, the Williams team needs to make several attempts.

This greatly increased Wu Shi's burden.

After all, only Wu Shi could test that improvement of a fraction of a second per lap.

Massa plays a more supporting role; he helps identify areas for optimization in a broader context.

Then, the range was further refined to a smaller interval, and Wu Shi completed the final testing step.

Red Bull also had bad luck; Ricciardo's new gearbox hydraulic system malfunctioned, preventing him from completing the second practice session.

On the contrary, Perez and Hulkenberg of Force India ranked fourth and fifth respectively, showing good competitiveness.

However, in a post-race interview, the Force India team principal stated that they still need to adjust their balance.

Judging from their performance in the previous leg, Force India has indeed made significant progress after the summer break, and the team leader's words were seen as them being modest.

Williams' poor performance has drawn concern from many media outlets during interviews.

In response to media concerns, Williams' deputy team manager Claire stated:

"We have encountered some problems and are making adjustments. We believe we will be able to come up with suitable solutions in tomorrow's third training session."

And so, the next day arrived.

Saturday morning, third training session begins.

Hamilton and Rosberg both conducted longer tests, running 18 and 19 laps respectively.

Hamilton remains at the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1 minute 24.544 seconds.

Rosberg was 0.3 seconds slower, finishing third with a time of 1 minute 24.844 seconds.

On the contrary, Ferrari's Vettel clocked a time of 1 minute 24.808 seconds, placing second.

Wu Shi was 0.1 seconds slower than Rosberg, placing him fourth.

The good news is that Massa also did well, finishing only 0.1 seconds slower than Wu Shi and ranking fifth.

Indian forces seem to have encountered some problems, just as their team leader said in an interview after the second training session, with Perez only ranking eighth.

Hulkenberg did not make the top ten.

But the biggest problem is Kimi, who failed to finish in the top five in all three practice matches.

According to Ferrari, the problem lies in the tuning.

Mercedes held a pre-qualifying meeting immediately after the practice session ended.

"Wu Shi didn't show much speed in the three practice races. What's your prediction for his qualifying result?" Toto asked the data team directly.

“三练里，吴轼1分24秒934，马萨1分25秒101，这是他们跑出的最快速度。

"By combining their fastest times in each time slot, we estimate that Massa's final qualifying time should fluctuate by 0.1 seconds around 1 minute and 24 seconds."

"As for Wu Shi, based on our previous experience, it's estimated to be around 1 minute and 23.5 seconds."

After the engineer read the data aloud, the room fell silent for a brief moment.

Toto stroked his chin and asked, "How many of ours are there?"

"1 minute and 23.5 seconds," the engineer replied.

Was the engine replaced for nothing?

Toto felt like cursing, but he held back and only thought about it in his mind.

"Massa is very skilled at the Monza circuit, and I don't think Wu Shi will be that much faster than him this time."

Another engineer raised an objection.

After he finished speaking, he typed a series of things on his laptop, and once the system simulation was completed, it was immediately transmitted to the screen.

Everyone looked over.

On high-speed tracks like Monza, most teams will use a low downforce setup.

After all, straight sections make up a full 77% of the route, so you can just floor the gas pedal.

Since they are all low-resistance settings, the requirements for engine output power are reduced.

With only 11 corners, it's difficult to create a significant difference.

Therefore, even when driving race cars with a certain performance difference, top drivers will still not be much slower.

The data chart shows the top speeds of each car on the long straight, and the differences are not very significant.

"So your calculation is that Wu Shi will be about 0.2 seconds slower than 1 minute 23.5 seconds?" someone asked.

"Yes," the engineer nodded.

Toto's gaze, however, was fixed on the two drivers.

Engineers control the data, drivers control the race car.

Ultimately, the driver decides the final result.

"With each game that passes, we get one step closer to the end of the season!"
"Right now, we are still behind in the drivers' standings, and I hope to end this as soon as possible."

After saying that, he seemed somewhat dissatisfied and continued:
"Whenever people in the paddock talk about how amazing a race car we've built, I just feel it's an insult to us."

Hamilton placed his hands on the table and looked at Toto like a student being scolded.

Rosberg kept his head down and didn't look directly at Toto.

Toto's words silenced the entire conference room for a full five seconds.

Those five suffocating seconds only dissipated after Toto said "continue."

Next, the heads of each module began to report on the situation, and finally the two drivers reported.

Unlike the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere of the Mercedes conference room, the Williams conference room was filled with immense pressure and anxiety.

We can't catch up at all, we just can't catch up!

Even Wu Shi couldn't achieve a good result in this third training session, leaving everyone feeling helpless.

"Let's get this over with quickly and get the car in place before qualifying starts."

After listening to the reports from the two drivers and engineers, Claire rubbed her temples.

The work continues in a tense but orderly manner.

Wu Shi, Masa, and the engineers gathered together, pointing at various data and discussing feasible adjustments and changes.

The crew was busy all noon and didn't eat anything.

Even though Wu Shi knew Louise was coming, he could only spare a little time to greet her before immediately throwing himself into his work.

There was no rest.

In the afternoon, the qualifying races began.

The final configuration was finally determined just before the qualifying season began.

Wu Shi and Massa weren't very confident, so they both entered the track early.

After a few laps, Wu Shi achieved a time of 1 minute and 24.9 seconds.

This result was enough to qualify for Q2, but Wu Shi did not stop improving his performance.

After the second lap, he breathed a sigh of relief; the tuning was fine.

So he pressed TR and told the team, "Everything is normal."

"OK, do you want to continue?"

“Yes, I need to do a few more laps,” Wu Shi said.

So he stayed on the track, racing, to find the best line.

The simpler the track, the more it tests the subtle driving skills in each bend.

Wu Shi still needs to take control of the car that has just been tuned.

Because of the slight differences in the stiffness of the suspension, all previously identified road shoulders need to be re-identified.

This is undoubtedly a huge project.

Including the speed lap and the cooling/charging lap, Wu Shi ran a full 9 laps before returning to the pit lane.

马萨倒是结束的比较快，他只跑了7圈就刷出一个1分25秒184的成绩，这个成绩肯定是能够进入Q2的。

Q1 didn't produce any major upsets; as usual, two Manor cars and two McLarens were eliminated.

Verstappen did not participate in qualifying due to vehicle problems.

In Q2, the real competition began.

As before, in order to have better tires at the start of the race, drivers who can occupy the front row tend to only drive one lap to save tires.

On a high-speed track like Monza, even the best drivers cannot claim to set an excellent lap time every time.

The team reduced Wu Shi's tire pressure to the minimum.

Wu Shi only intended to make one racing circle.

“You need to improve your time by at least 0.5 seconds to secure a spot in Q3,” Jonathan said.

"I see."

For the first few minutes, Wu Shi didn't even get on the bus; he stood in the pit lane watching everyone's lap times. Louise was standing right next to him.

At that moment, a camera was pointed at us.

Wu Shi smiled with pursed lips and waved at the camera.

Louise also tilted her head cutely and greeted them.

This unexpectedly sparked cheers from the audience.

The spectators who come to watch the qualifying matches on Saturday are basically die-hard fans.

After all, if it weren't for selling package tickets, many viewers wouldn't want to buy tickets for Friday and Saturday at all.

“You still care that Tali is so popular,” Jonathan said.

"After all, I'm a driver who came from here."

Wu Shi responded with a smile, then turned his head to look at Louise.

His fan base in Europe is basically built up from his karting days to his F3 career.

He had been a star in various competitions since he was a child. People naturally admire the strong, and coupled with his good looks, he naturally attracted a group of fans.

If he were to start a live stream now, he would definitely attract a large number of fans.

However, he didn't have much free time this season.

With less than 6 minutes left in Q2, Wu Shi drove out of the parking garage.

"Wu Shi must have only planned to run one lap at this time, yet he was so confident." The commentator was quite surprised.

Throughout Q2, only Hamilton and Kimi chose to do this, even the previous generation's prodigy Vettel had already completed a flying lap.

Wu Shi drove onto the track, his mind filled with every detail of the track since yesterday.

He carefully felt the grip of the soft tires.

During the warm-up, the tires and brakes quickly heated up due to his frequent acceleration and deceleration.

Before the lap was even over, everything was ready.

It's only Q2.
Wu Shi got into the zone and sped off.

The camera still focused on Wu Shi on the main straight – the sponsor who hung on Williams this year has garnered a lot of attention.

His timer appeared at the bottom of the screen.

The one speeding ahead was Hamilton.

Given the huge gap before, no one actually thought Wu Shi could achieve a result that would threaten the old man's.

The question on everyone's mind is whether Wu Shi can push the car forward in 1 minute and 23 seconds.

Regardless of the cutoff line for Q2, for drivers aiming for pole position in Q3, Q2 already requires them to drive at their absolute limit and get a feel for the situation beforehand.

A moment later, Hamilton sped across the grid lines.

The time was 1 minute 30.011 seconds.

The Mercedes crew pumped their fists and shouted "NICE!" That was brilliant!

It's much better than we predicted at the meeting; that's the skill of a driver!
Meanwhile, Rosberg, who was preparing for his second flying lap, saw Hamilton's improved time, which pushed him into first place, on the roadside billboard.

I know I have to achieve a good result!
Half a minute later, he rushed towards the grid lines and began to speed away.

Wu Shi's results have also been released.

1 minutes 23 seconds 611!

“Nice!” Jonathan exclaimed excitedly.

He originally expected to achieve a time of around 1 minute and 24 seconds, but this result far exceeded his expectations!

Kimi's time then came in: 1 minute 23.757 seconds.

Next up is Rosberg, with a time of 1 minute 23.864 seconds.

The Mercedes team, who had just been jubilant, were not particularly dejected at this moment; they all remained expressionless, as if they had expected this result.

Vettel's second flying lap time has also been released: 1 minute 23.577 seconds, placing him second.

This gave the Ferrari team a huge thrill and sparked considerable cheers from the crowd.

Monza is Ferrari's home ground!
Q2 is coming to an end.

The results are basically set.

Hamilton pulled ahead by a wide margin.
Vettel followed closely behind, 0.194 seconds slower.

Wu Shi finished third, 0.034 seconds slower than Vettel.

This suggests that a fierce battle may erupt between Williams and Ferrari in Q3.

Kimi is fourth.

Rosberg is fifth.

Massa is sixth.

The top six spots were taken by the three major teams this season.

Red Bull's Ricciardo didn't participate due to engine trouble, and Kvyat finished last and was eliminated, presumably also due to engine problems, meaning he wasn't pushing hard enough.

Sainz finished second to last and was also eliminated.

Both Red Bull Q2 and Red Bull Q2 were eliminated.

After resting for less than fifteen minutes, Q3 started his watch.

“Everyone did their best in Q2,” Jonathan told Wu Shi.

“Of course, so do I,” Wu Shi nodded.

In Q3 tradition, the drivers who missed out on the front row symbolically completed a flying lap and then quit.

Eriksson was so casual that he only managed a time of 1 minute 26.214 seconds.

Hulkenberg and Perez didn't struggle either, finishing their race early after just one lap.

Grosjean, however, wanted to climb the ranks.

When the track was a bit clearer, Wu Shi took to the track.

On the first lap, he smoothly ran a time of 1 minute 23.622 seconds, taking the top spot.

Claire nodded; Wu Shi's performance had always been so consistent.

“We just ran into some wind,” Wu Shi told Jonathan in TR.

"OK, are you planning to stay on the track, or come back first?"

“I’m staying on the track,” Wu Shi said.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on the traffic."

After a brief conversation, the old man completed his first speed lap.

1 minutes 23 seconds 417.

It's obviously fast.

It seems that, just as Jonathan said before, everyone had already shown their full strength in Q2.

Now, neither Hamilton nor Wu Shi has achieved a Q2 time in their first flying lap.

The other drivers then began to speed off as well.

The first wave of collective speeding has come to an end.

Most drivers opted to return to the pit lane to rest, waiting for the last minute before heading back onto the track for their second race.

Only Wu Shi remained on the track.

"The traffic conditions on the track are excellent right now. Are you ready to go?"

"of course."

After a brief reply, Wu Shi began his second gallop.

As before, he pushed the track to its limits in almost every area to compensate for Williams' lack of downforce in the corners.

This extreme challenge placed a tremendous strain on his body.

Susu!

After one lap, the results were announced.

1 minutes 23 seconds 440.

hiss!
Even the Williams crew members found this result somewhat unbelievable.

"call!"

Wu Shi took a breath and said in TR, "I just encountered a tailwind, very lucky!"

"Yeah, very good!"

Jonathan looked at Wu Shi's grades, and realized that the only one he needed to worry about next was Rosberg.

Even the director realized the key point, so he focused the camera on Rosberg, who was sitting in the race car waiting.

Rosberg noticed everyone's attention, looked at the camera, and appeared serious.

“I should go out now,” Rosberg said to his track engineer.

"Wait a little longer," the track engineer refused.

"."

While Rosberg was waiting, Hamilton from next door went out.

Nearly three minutes later, Hamilton set a new fastest lap record.

1 minutes 23 seconds 397.

Rosberg took a deep breath, still only able to wait for instructions from the track engineer.

His track engineer was also under a lot of pressure.

As more and more race cars speed along the track, the track conditions are constantly improving.

He only let Rosberg go out when the traffic was good enough.

“After the warm-up lap, we need to start speeding immediately; we only have one chance to do this,” the track engineer told Rosberg.

"Cpoy".

After Rosberg agreed, he began his high-speed journey.

Before everyone's attention turned to him, Kimi and Vettel's results had already been released.

Both Ferrari drivers clocked around 1 minute 23.6 seconds.

Kimi was slightly ahead by 0.05 seconds.

At this point, Rosberg's performance became the most crucial point of interest.

Wu Shi, who had already returned to the P room, was also watching what his direct competitor was doing.

However, before he had even finished the first timed segment, he directly told Jonathan:
"He has no chance."

"WHY?"

Jonathan was somewhat surprised, because each driver's proficiency in each time trial is different, so the speed in a time trial is unlikely to determine the final result.

Most importantly, Rosberg didn't even finish the first time trial!
Wu Shi explained: "He didn't run freely, and..."
"And I felt he was a bit slow coming out of the corner."

From the perspective of the T-shaped platform, it can be seen that Rosberg did not maximize the use of space on the entire track.

Even if the cars on the side don't utilize the space to its fullest potential, they can still achieve very good results, but this is a battle for pole position!

If you don't run at full speed in the first timed segment, it will be even more difficult to run freely in the subsequent timed segments.

Sure enough, Rosberg's score came out a minute and twenty seconds later.

With a time of 1 minute 23.703 seconds, he ranked sixth.

Applause erupted from the Williams crew.

Wu Shi once again got a front-row starting position.

"Well done."

Claire also stepped forward and patted Wu Shi on the shoulder, saying:
"Rosberg is stuck at the back again, we still have a good chance in the main race."

Wu Shi nodded and smiled, "Of course, I will try to arm wrestle with Lewis."

"Haha, then we'll wait and see what surprises you've got for us."

(End of this chapter)