F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 258 5.0-Second Tire Change

The qualifying round for the Singapore Grand Prix has ended.

This is a pole position battle that cannot be ignored throughout the entire season.

Is the formidable competitiveness displayed by Ferrari and Red Bull just a flash in the pan, or is it likely to continue?
This issue is of great concern both inside and outside the paddock.

When Vettel returned and parked his car in the first position representing qualifying, a crowd immediately cheered for him.

Reporters then stepped forward to conduct interviews, with five or six microphones from different media outlets shoving their way at them.

Vettel ran a hand through his hair, a smile he couldn't suppress.

"Wow! Sebastian Vettel, you look very happy. You had a great night."

Vettel nodded: "Yes, thank you!"

After saying that, he waved to the cheering crowd on the periphery.

"This is the second non-Mercedes driver to take pole position this season, and with such a huge lead. How did you do it?"

Vettel touched his nose and said with a smile:

“The car has been performing exceptionally well since Friday, and we’ve had a fantastic overall feeling.”

"During practice, we heard that Mercedes seemed to have some issues with tire management."

"But we are not sure if this has affected their qualifying."

"However, the final result showed that Mercedes did not demonstrate sufficient qualifying speed."

"Their speed is so far behind, it's unbelievable."

"I think Mercedes is still holding back some speed, and tonight's performance was definitely not their normal speed."

"Pole position is just the beginning of the race, and we hope to maintain this lead in tomorrow's race as well."

"Because we have seen that Wu Shi also got pole position before, but Mercedes took it back not long after."

"Speaking of Wu Shi, he must have achieved a pretty good ranking, right?"

Finally, Vettel changed the subject.

"Yes, Wu Shi completed his ranking with P3," the reporter responded.

"Oh! Really? Then I'm even more convinced that Mercedes hasn't truly played to their full potential."

Vettel was somewhat surprised by Wu Shi's performance.

"He's up behind you right now, making some shady moves. Should we call him over?"

The interview camera then focused on Wu Shi, who was passing by Biye (＾－＾)V.

Vettel turned around, immediately pulled Wu Shi over, and said:
"My interview is over. It's your turn now."

Then, tilting his head, he made a peace sign and ran off laughing.

When he came in front of the camera, Wu Shi had to pretend to be serious, and his smile disappeared instantly.

But he just couldn't help but want to laugh.

Jonathan just confirmed again that Hamilton is P6 and Rosberg is P7.

How can anyone not laugh at this?
“Wu Shi, just during Q1, we also saw David Crofty worrying about whether you could achieve a good result.”

"His concerns do indeed make us feel that you seem to have encountered some problems in Singapore."

"But just like in previous competitions, your team eventually overcame all of this and helped you achieve a good result."

Is there anything you'd like to share with us?

Wu Shi touched his nose. This uncle with the crooked head wasn't very kind; he'd dragged him here as a target.

He wasn't the one most worthy of a detailed interview tonight.

"Well, we did encounter quite a few problems because our tire temperature was always a bit difficult to control, mainly because this set of ultrasoft tires is very sensitive."

"We spent a lot of effort trying to solve this problem, but we still couldn't find a good solution in the end."

"We just found a way to cope with the competition, and I feel that the result we achieved has exceeded my expectations."

The reporters nodded, some wanting to ask more detailed technical questions.

But at that moment, Jennifer, who rushed over, interrupted their questioning.

The reporters also knew that once the press officer arrived, they shouldn't try to get too much information out of the young drivers.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wu Shi asked Jennifer.

"Hmm, I feel like you're about to say something wrong," Jennifer laughed.

"Luckily you arrived in time."

After Wu Shi finished speaking, he saw that Pan Zi had just gotten off the carriage in the distance.

He achieved an impressive eighth place.

Hey! Max!

“Wow, your performance is amazing. I never imagined you would rank so high,” Panzi said.

“In fact, I was the same at the beginning. I thought I could only go up to 1 minute and 45 seconds.” Wu Shi nodded.

"Haha, I see a Williams behind me, but it's not you," Verstappen said with a laugh.

Massa: Are you being polite?
Even after qualifying ended, the media and community remained enthusiastic.

The discussion became even more heated the next day.

On the one hand, the changes between the three teams of Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and Nissan are remarkable.

Mercedes rarely exhibits such a weakness.

However, it's hard to say for sure, since Vettel himself said in an interview that Mercedes might have some hidden strength.

On the other hand, Wu Shi's continued ranking in the top three is also noteworthy.

Even the BBC seems to have said something objective this time:
“Wu Shi is completely unaffected by the track and the car; he seems to only care about second or third place.”

Wu Shi was furious when he saw this!
Does he only care about second or third place?

That's the level of performance that Westbrook is at, even if you asked God not to defy the laws of physics!
If Westbrook's aerodynamics were better, would it have been this difficult?

When other people drive, their hands might get a little tired.

He doesn't get tenosynovitis while driving because he's young!
Tired of watching the news, Wu Shi invited Verstappen and a few other drivers to stroll around the nearby commercial area.

Marina Bay Circuit is located right next to Singapore’s famous business district, which is quite convenient.

As evening approached, the area around the racetrack became lively early on.

Wu Shi saw a large number of Chinese faces, and many people came to him for autographs.

His polite response made me feel very familiar with him, as he had a Chinese face and I felt a strong sense of déjà vu when communicating with him in English.

Fortunately, quite a few people still communicate with him in Mandarin.

Some accents are just rather peculiar.

The temperature in Singapore at night is not low either, reaching 30 degrees Celsius.

The track temperature wasn't high, only 37 degrees Celsius, which is one reason why tire temperature was difficult to maintain.

The teams' discussions about race strategy inevitably bring up the fact that the Singapore Grand Prix has a 100% historical safety car deployment rate.

Therefore, although Pirelli provides the optimal three-stop strategy.

However, most people probably don't consider stopping for three days, otherwise they'd be at a 100% disadvantage if they encountered a safe car.

By 7:30 p.m., all the drivers were in position.

When the green light comes on in the pit lane, drivers from each team will conduct a reconnaissance lap to verify that their vehicles are ready to compete.

Wu Shi took a stroll around and found that the track conditions were similar to those of yesterday's qualifying race.

He parked the car at the third starting position, and the crew immediately surrounded him.

Because there are now events such as playing the national anthem before the race, drivers basically have to get out of their cars.

This is also the last time the drivers can relax before the race starts.

During the national anthem, the drivers stood in a row and paid their respects.

As you can see, the drivers have serious expressions.

This is a rare scene; with the competition at this stage, the standings are still very close, and no one can be happy.

After the national anthem ceremony, Wu Shi returned to the race car and spoke with the mechanic, asking him to use an air gun to blow off his gloves.

After one survey, the area became incredibly damp.

It will feel really strange to put it on again later.

Jonathan, on the other hand, was holding a laptop and telling him what else he needed to pay attention to.

As Wu Shi listened, he glanced at the racetrack.

Race queens dressed in traditional Malay attire held up signs.

When it comes to the crucial moments of a race, the drivers almost never smile and rarely communicate.

No matter how many Grand Prix I've participated in, the tension before the start of the competition is always there.

If you want to be less nervous, then you need to own an absolute Mars rover.

As he watched, he saw Toro Rosso chairman Franz Tost and McLaren team principal Ron Dennis whispering to each other.

He was laughing as he talked.

The broadcast cameras caught this, and they even managed to capture Ron Dennis laughing there.

One commentator immediately joked, "Could this be Toro Rosso discussing whether to try out a Honda engine?"

“What would Ron Dennis say? He would say: ‘Brother, listen to me, you need to think this through, the engine’s stability isn’t good either.’”

"Hahaha!"

As the 17-minute bell rang, the drivers began to put on their protective gear.

Wu Shi also put on his protective gear and got into the car.

The mechanic then used an air gun to cool him down.

This familiar warmth made him think he was spending his summer vacation in Shenzhen.

Soon, several more bells rang throughout the venue.

The staff retreated to both sides.

As soon as the time came, Vettel started moving and began the warm-up tire loop.

Wu Shi followed behind, and whenever they were on a straight road, he had to sway left and right to warm the tires and quickly raise their temperature.

In Singapore, overtaking is less difficult than in other street races.

However, the best opportunity to overtake is still at the start of the race.

After one lap, as the last American parked his car in the starting grid, the safety car moved up.

The red lights in front suddenly turned on.

The engines all revved up in unison, filling the entire starting straight with their roar.

The five red lights lit up very quickly. Wu Shi squinted, but didn't stare at them intently; instead, he used his peripheral vision to see them.

This is one of his own ways of keeping his attention.

Swish!
"It's lights out and away we go!"

Vettel and Ricciardo reacted very quickly, so quickly that Wu Shi felt he was too slow.

Just as they reached the 100-meter marker, sparks began to fly from the rear of Ricardo's car.

Wu Shi quickly glanced at the rearview mirrors; his position was perfectly safe.

Kimi, who was behind him, was a bit slower, so he was facing Kvyat's attack.

Approaching Turn 1, Vettel took the lead.

With Ricardo blocking the way, Wu Shi had no choice but to go around him from the outside.

But there's no chance to overtake here.

After turn 2, the first three cars lined up in a row.

The cars were pulled apart at the next few bends.

"First timing segment, oh, first and third timing segments, yellow flag."

Jonathan said in TR.

"WHAT?"

Did the car behind us crash when we started?

"Some vehicles didn't start when the bus was scheduled to depart, it seems to be Max."

"Oh, he's withdrawing from the competition? That's really bad news."

"They are preparing to enter the maintenance area to depart."

At this moment, the broadcast camera finally focused on the starting straight.

Staff members were already pushing Verstappen's car onto the straight. When the lap was over and Wu Shi returned to the starting straight, Verstappen's car had been pushed back to the pit area.

There are no obstructions on the road.

"The Mercedes isn't that fast," Jonathan added at this point.

"Clearly, this is to tell Wu Shi that the threat from the rear has decreased," David added.

However, Vettel pulled away very quickly, and by the end of the first lap he had already pulled away from Ricciardo by three seconds!

Wu Shi was also pulled away by Ricardo by 1 second.

Kimi also struggled to keep up with Wu Shi, trailing by 0.9 seconds.

On the second lap, Verstappen restarted and returned to the track.

On the third lap, Vettel was even more dominant, leaving Ricciardo more than five seconds behind!
At this moment, Kimi aimed at Wu Shi and prepared to continue closing the distance, as DRS would be activated on the next lap.

"Vettel's lap time on the last lap was 1 minute 51.623 seconds, 1.3 seconds faster than Ricciardo."

One lap per second?
The Mars rover at this station is a Ferrari!

Wu Shi glanced at the rearview mirror with some concern and said:

"How's Kimi's speed? He seems ready to attack me!"

It wasn't that Wu Shi was timid; it was just that Vettel was too frightening, and he felt terrified even when he saw a Ferrari.

However, Jonathan's voice remained calm, reminding him:
“You need to be good at defending on the corners. We won’t be too slow on the straights. Kimi is much slower than Vettel here, so don’t worry too much.”

Sure enough, even after DRS was activated, as long as Kimi guarded the corners well, he couldn't catch up.

Sometimes Kimi's cornering wasn't concise enough, and he was even pulled ahead by Wu Shi, who had the best driving style.

At this point, the situation on the field stabilized, and the director showed the camera to the replay of the helicopter at the start of the race.

The three drivers in front started very quickly, and it was almost impossible to tell who started first.

Kimi, in fourth place, was a little slow to respond, which allowed Kvyat, in fifth place, to immediately seize the opportunity to attack.

But Kimi noticed the situation and immediately squeezed towards the center line.

Because the street circuit was narrow and Kimi's start wasn't particularly bad, this squeeze locked the car line, giving Kvyat no chance to overtake him.

"Kimi's turn was very cunning!" the soldier said.

“Yes, if we block it like this, the Kuwait will have almost no room to overtake. When we get to turn 1, he just needs to stick close to Wu Shi.” Fei Ge nodded.

The perspective then shifts back to the competition field.

The drivers are currently cruising normally.

On lap five, the Red Bull team became somewhat worried and asked Ricciardo, "How are your tires?"

"no problem."

He said there was no problem, but his actual response was that he was one second ahead of Vettel.

Wu Shi couldn't keep up with Ricardo either, hanging behind him for a second.

Kimi, Kvyat, and Hamilton, who followed, were exactly the same; none of them showed any ability to overtake.

However, on lap 6, Button immediately reported to the team that his tires were overheating.

Seeing the situation, Jonathan couldn't help but ask Wu Shi what was going on.

Wu Shi replied in TR: "I can control it, although I'm a little tired."

“Okay, Vettel’s lap time has dropped; it’s now 52.2 seconds,” Jonathan added.

There was no need to say this to Wu Shi, since Wu Shi wasn't in second place.

However, in the first five laps after the start, Vettel's sprint was so fast that he was the only driver in the entire race who was able to consistently run under 1 minute and 52 seconds.

He pulled ahead of Ricciardo by a lap and a second, a significant lead indeed.

"Right now, the Alonso group is the main force in the battle, while the other vehicles are basically stable."

"It's not appropriate to directly say that the competition is boring," the soldier said.

"Hehe, that's how it is. It's a street race, so you'll see that the cars are waiting for the safety car in the back."

Do you think a safety car will come today?

"It's hard to say," the soldier shook his head.

"Singapore has always had a 100% safety rate in its vehicles!"

"It's precisely because he's 100% that accidents can happen!" the soldier laughed.

"You're right," Fei Ge chuckled.

The two chatted like that, since there really weren't many interesting things to see on the field.

Grosjean was the first to pit for tires on lap 9.

He pitted after 5 laps on his supersoft tires in Q2, meaning he only used them for 14 laps.

This serves as a model for the top 10 drivers.

After all, a large number of drivers completed 6 laps in Q2.

However, pitting now would be disadvantageous, so none of the front-row drivers are willing to pit unless their positions are clearly threatened.

Grosjean entered the station because he had dropped from 10th to 13th place at the start of the train.

Grosjean's tire change wasn't fast, taking a full four seconds, and he ended up in 17th place.

The Lotus team is considering an undercut, but how do they increase speed when stuck in traffic?

Jonathan was unaware of Grosjean's reasons for changing the tires so early; he was simply observing everyone's data closely.

Tire wear on the Marina Bay Circuit was already high, and the added effect of the supersoft tires' poor durability caused everyone's lap times to drop.

"How many laps will those drivers in the front row keep going?" Fei asked.

"Uh..." The soldier hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said:

"I don't think it's a question of how many laps they're prepared to continue; they're waiting for the safety car."

"Weren't you just saying the safety car wouldn't come?!" Fei Ge immediately retorted with a smile.

"That's just talk, but you never know," the soldier said cheerfully, trying to smooth things over.

“If that’s the case, then Williams will be at a disadvantage,” Fei said.

Williams' tire changes in the paddock have never been particularly fast, especially compared to Ferrari and Red Bull.

“Wu Shi and Kimi’s second difference wasn’t big enough, so entering the station was indeed a bit dangerous.” The soldier nodded in agreement.

"Because of the tire wear, it would be very easy to undercut at this station, right?" Fei suddenly had an idea.

"Do not."

The soldier shook his head firmly and said, "Following the car too closely will lead to getting stuck in traffic after we get out."

Indeed, that's exactly what happened. After Vettel's impressive performance for a few laps, he slowed down and Ricciardo has now closed the gap to 4.5 seconds.

It's unclear whether Vettel slowed down to conserve energy or if he genuinely couldn't go fast enough.

The difference in seconds between Wu Shi and Ricardo is relatively constant, always around 1.2 seconds.

Kimi, on the other hand, was pulled ahead by Wu Shi, with the difference in seconds remaining at 1.4 seconds.

The queue continued like this until Nasr, who was in 11th place, when Vettel was already leading by a full 30 seconds.

The arrival time at Singapore Station was exactly 29 seconds.

Therefore, whoever enters the station and exits will inevitably find themselves in the traffic jam.

Getting stuck in traffic on the street will slow you down.

Therefore, the strategy of the front row drivers is to wait until the drivers behind them have finished pitting before they pit themselves.

Clearly, the top ten all shared this idea.

However, the drivers outside the points zone didn't share this idea.

Alonso, Sainz, Ericsson, and Bottas entered the pits.

Everyone was using ultrasoft tires to start.

Apart from Ericsson and Sainz not making it into Q2 due to a change in starting tires, the other drivers actually completed nearly 13 laps.

Sainz's lack of tire management skills was already evident in his rookie season.

Soon after, Toro Rosso and McLaren each put on a circus performance.

Alonso changed his tires in 7.6 seconds, while Sainz changed his in 8.6 seconds.

Both of them lost a lot of money coming out.

At the end of lap 12, Kvyat and Massa chose to pit.

Kvyat changed tires in just 2.5 seconds.

"Although the car has had a lot of problems this year, Red Bull tire replacement is still working perfectly!" the soldier commented.

As a result, Massa, who was following behind, immediately encountered a major problem.

It took a full 4.5 seconds to change the tire!

"Oh wow! It seems there really was a problem with Williams' tire change."

Is it really because the weather is too hot?

The soldier couldn't help but shake his head, as if he could already see Wu Shi entering the station later.

"This is not good news for Wu Shi."

Fei Ge was also unhappy.

At this point, Wu Shi received Jonathan's TR:

"You need to stay on the track. How are your tires doing?"

“Of course,” Wu Shi replied.

As soon as the "TR" sound ended, in the director's broadcast view...

Massa emerged from the maintenance area, and the entire entry process took 31.380 seconds.

At the same time, Hulkenberg rushed over from behind.

Massa was clearly slower, but Hulkenberg closed the door too ruthlessly, leaving no opening at all.

During the lane change, the left rear wheel collided with Massa instantly!
Hulkenberg was knocked straight off the track and crashed into the wall.

Jonathan had just released TR, but now he immediately pressed it again and shouted:

"Huckenberg is on the wall! Hulkenberg is on the wall! Massa and Hulkenberg collided at the pit lane exit!"

After repeating the same phrase several times, Wu Shi suddenly realized that it was time to go to the station to change the tire.

If it's displayed on the wall, at least a virtual safety vehicle will appear!

At the same time, the TRs of all teams were very busy.

Sure enough, the virtual safety vehicle arrived shortly afterward.

"Singapore remains the same." Fei Ge clapped his hands.

"A virtual safety vehicle doesn't count as a physical safety vehicle!" the soldier stubbornly insisted.

Immediately, a large number of drivers in the front row were called back, and one F1 car after another entered the pits.

"Let's see, Vettel changed the tire, 2.6 seconds! Excellent!"

"Next up is Ricardo. Ricardo's in. How long is Ricardo changing a tire? Wait! Ricardo's still changing a tire!"

"Wu Shi is here! Wu Shi changed the tire very quickly this time!"

The soldier and the flying soldier both perked up.

"Oh! Wu Shi changed tires in 2.4 seconds! And Ricciardo? Ricciardo in 5 seconds! Ricciardo is ridiculously slow!"①
"OH MY GOD! God is having mercy on this young man! God is having mercy on this young man!"

At the same time, the on-site commentator David was also shouting.

Williams' pit stop is just one square in front of Red Bull's pit stop.

Ricardo watched helplessly as Wu Shi, who came in later, changed the tire and started his car, while his own race car had just been put down.

"WHAT?! What are you doing?! F**K!!!"

Ricardo was on the verge of exploding with emotion.

By the time he arrived at the track, he could only follow behind Wu Shi.

The dramatic turn of events in the repair area happened very suddenly!

Even if there is a 1-second difference on the track, as long as the difference in tire change after pitting is no more than 2 seconds, you will basically not be overtaken.

As a result, Red Bull was ridiculously slow this time!
Williams, however, was unusually fast this time!

In addition, Wu Shi stepped on the white line of the maintenance area when entering the station, which was close to the speed limit. So when they entered the maintenance area, the difference in their speed was less than one second!

The director belatedly started replaying the footage.

　①Ricciardo did change tires in 5 seconds. If Ferrari hadn't pitted with both cars, Kimi would probably have overtaken him.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)