F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 264 LH Is he God? PB He isn't.

The veteran's cries of agony on the track hadn't even faded when Sainz started his antics.

He crashed into a pillar and was then taken off the track.

Perez first noticed it on lap 29 and told his track engineer, Tim:
"There's a lot of debris on the main road!"

Tim TR: "Understood."

Sainz then said in the TR, "I hit the guardrail, watch out for the front wing."

The camera pans to the track, and although the clarity isn't great, some glittering fragments can still be seen.

The few fragments did not trigger a yellow flag, so no one paid any attention to the debris.

Also on lap 29, Mercedes told Rosberg in the TR:
“Strat 8, this lap is very important. BOX, BOX, BOX, do the opposite of Vettel.”

Hamilton then said on the TR Reagan team:

"The shaking was so strong, I was struggling terribly!"

Bono waited a moment and then said, "Okay, Lewis, got it. It won't be long."

After listening to the simultaneous interpretation, the soldier explained:
"It seems Hamilton just noticed a tire leak? Is he about to pit?"

"Yes, Rosberg has entered the station first. Is he planning to try to undercut Watts?" The soldier nodded.

Rosberg entered the station later than Wu Shi on his first visit, but entered earlier on his second visit.

Most importantly, he still opted to switch to hard tires!
"It's still hard tires! Shouldn't he have a new set of medium tires? Does that mean hard tires are in better condition?"

The soldier stared in surprise at the orange tires in the picture.

"There are still 23 laps left in the race. The medium tires won't be enough to finish the race," Fei reminded him.

"Oh! That's right!"

zizi~
At that moment, the radio crackled to life again; it was a communication between Williams and Wu Shi.

“Wu Shi, use your tires, use them fully, Lewis is pitting,” Jonathan’s voice rang out.

"Is this an attempt to close the gap?" Fei asked.

"It's only lap 30 now. If Wu Shi had pitted immediately after closing in, he wouldn't have chosen medium tires and wouldn't have finished the race."

"I'm putting Fei's advice into practice," the soldier said.

"But there's a variable on the field now! Hamilton's tires are leaking air!" Fei Ge felt there was something fishy going on.

"Was it caused by the debris from earlier? Or is the neutral tire worn out too much?" the soldier asked.

"I'm not sure about that," Fei shook his head.

However, the situation on the field did not develop in a direction favorable to Wu Shi.

Although Hamilton's tires were leaking air, it did not seriously affect his lap time.

Wu Shi's hard tires had only caught up with Hamilton's speed by a lap or two. To close the gap, he would have to run a few more laps.

Hamilton can pit at any time, and once he pits, his lap times will return with the new hard tires.

And most importantly, the third and fourth positions have changed.

After Rosberg pitted early, he switched to a set of old hard tires that had been used for three laps, but his lap times were still quite good.

Before lap 30 was even over, he erased Vettel's lead, forcing Vettel to pit at the end of lap 30.

But it was too late!
When Vettel came out, he ran into Rosberg who was speeding by.

The hard tires that had just left the station were cold and hard, like leftover steamed buns; they would slip if you pressed the accelerator even slightly.

Vettel had absolutely no way to do anything!
"A brilliant tactical overtake, Rosberg is back in third place!"

"Nobody expected Rosberg to arrive at the station so early!"

Rosberg's second Stint on new hard tires only lasted 14 laps!
What is this concept?
Among the top ten drivers who started using old neutral tires, as long as they changed tires normally, including the few laps in Q2, they all completed at least 14 laps!
Rosberg's early replacement of the hard tires is tantamount to using them as medium tires!
Moreover, Mercedes' TR is also very deceptive.

While telling Rosberg to make the opposite decision, they were simultaneously telling Rosberg to come to the station.

So how should Ferrari interpret this "TR"?
It's estimated that Ferrari's strategy team only learned about Mercedes' tactics when Rosberg entered the pits!
Rosberg's tactical overtaking maneuver not only cost Ferrari a podium finish but also posed a threat to Wu Shi.

At this point, Rosberg's second difference with Hamilton was still 36.8 seconds, while his second difference with Wu Shi was only 28.6 seconds.

Williams Data Center estimates that Rosberg's lap times will remain around 1 minute and 37 seconds for at least the next five laps.

Wu Shi's lap time on hard tires has remained relatively stable at around 1 minute and 38 seconds.

This means you'll be caught up by about 0.7 seconds per lap.

It's easy to imagine that within a few laps, Rosberg will have narrowed the gap to a level that Williams cannot accept.

Realizing this, everyone in Williams' pit room looked very serious.

After the calculation meeting, Rodrigo said:
"If Wu Shi maintains this state for five laps, he will lose a safe entry window. We need to consider the timing of his entry in advance."

"Should we take a look at Wu Shi's push?"

Jonathan asked, "Although Wu Shi's hard tires ran a bit longer than Rosberg's, he's still losing time by pitting now."

“Yeah, we won’t be pitting on lap 31 either,” Rodrigo replied.

他盯着汉密尔顿第30圈的圈速1分39秒212，慢了吴轼0.6秒。

Midway through lap 31, the difference between Wu Shi and Hamilton narrowed further to just 7.3 seconds.

Suddenly, a sound came from the Mercedes-Benz pit stop, and the crew mechanic ran out with a tire in his hand.

I thought it was a trick, but at the end of lap 31, Hamilton actually pitted!
This move did not throw Williams and his team into disarray.

Given that Rosberg's lap time met expectations, Wu Shi would certainly not follow the other drivers' unpredictable movements.

“Jonathan, we’d like to arrive at the station later,” Rodrigo said.

"I think so."

Jonathan also thought they should take the risk, so he informed Wu Shi in TR:
“We need you to push with all your might, no matter how many laps this tire has left. Rosberg is 28.01 seconds behind you, and we need to keep it under 25 seconds.”

The team shouted "Push all out" twice in a row, and Wu Shi immediately realized the critical importance of these few laps.

He started to increase the speed.

Wu Shi was indeed pushing with all his might, setting the fastest lap on the track on lap 31.

1 minutes 37 seconds 687!

It was actually the same lap time as Rosberg's hard tire setup!
But that lap didn't last long, and Rosberg broke the timer after crossing the checkered line.

1 minutes 37 seconds 147!

One lap faster by 0.5 seconds!
The difference between the two has narrowed to 27.7 seconds!
Williams and his team remained calm, because there was still at least two seconds of buffer time.

Now all we can do is wait and see how Hamilton performs after that.

On lap 32, Hamilton's out lap, including time spent in the pit area, took 1 minute 58.123 seconds.

Wu Shi's lead widened, but it was only by 17.3 seconds!
Once Wu Shi enters the pit, he will be more than 6 seconds behind Hamilton again.

The most important question now is whether the medium tires can complete the remaining 20 laps while maintaining speed.

Even earlier than this answer brought shock, on lap 33, Hamilton set a new fastest lap record.

1 minutes 36 seconds 145!

1.5 seconds!
He was 1.5 seconds faster than Wu Shi in one lap!
Rodrigo was stunned by what he saw, and then a problem that he had to decide in less than a minute was thrown in front of him.

Are they willing to bet that Hamilton will return to 1 minute and 37 seconds on lap 34?

The answer is no!
“BOX BOX BOX, let’s come in this circle,” Jonathan said.

"What tires?" Wu Shi asked immediately.

This is a problem for everyone. We're only on lap 34 now, and the tires we've changed will take us a full 19 laps!
I can definitely run that many laps, but the question is, what about my speed?
Rodrigo didn't speak until the last ten seconds or so, when he finally told the crew:
"Neutral fetus".

The crew, who had been waiting, immediately found the neutral tire and carried it to the outside work area.

Jonathan stared intently at the people, making sure they hadn't moved the wrong tires before turning to look at the data on the screen.

At the end of lap 34, Wu Shi pitted to change to medium tires.

“Wu Shi has switched to a neutral tire! This is a huge challenge!” David exclaimed.

After the race, Wu Shi was still 7.6 seconds behind Hamilton.

Wu Shi drove onto the track, and after warming up the tires only halfway on the first lap, he was already running at full speed by the third timing segment, finishing in just 18.3 seconds, 0.1 seconds faster than the old man on the first lap.

“Note that we still need to run 18 laps, so you need to manage your tires well,” Jonathan reminded him.

“I want to give it a try,” Wu Shi said.

Swish!
On lap 35, the veteran maintained a lap time of 1 minute 37.1 seconds, which was still very fast.

Wu Shi also put in his best effort, finishing the lap in 1 minute and 35.7 seconds and closing the gap by 1.4 meters.

The two players were 6.2 seconds apart.

However, this fastest lap time is only meant to put pressure on the opponent, just like Mercedes did before.

By lap 36, Wu Shi's lap time had returned to a normal 1 minute 37 seconds. The Williams team had faith in Wu Shi's tire management skills, so when they saw this cruising lap time, they realized they probably really couldn't catch Hamilton.

However, in other respects, this result is still acceptable; at least Rosberg is nowhere near Wu Shi's level.

On lap 37, Rosberg's lap time reached 1 minute 38.8 seconds.

Clearly, his previous efforts had worn down the tires too much, and Rosberg was no longer able to balance speed and tire management.

The only good news is that Hamilton's lap times are slowing down.

On lap 39, his time dropped to 1 minute 37.8 seconds.

Wu Shi was still able to maintain a lap time of around 1 minute 37.3 seconds.

The time difference between the two has narrowed to just over 4 seconds.

“Lewis, Wu Shi was 0.5 seconds faster than you on the first lap. You need to be careful,” Bono said.

"Didn't he use a neutral tire?"

“Yes, but he’s pushing with all his might,” Bono said.

"How many pushes can he do?" Hamilton asked.

“我们预计他的圈速是按照每圈至少0.1秒下滑，第50圈时预计圈速1分38秒7。”

"Oh! Is he God? And he's supposed to be going downhill at a constant speed for lap times!" Hamilton complained.

“No, if you maintain 37.8 seconds, he will tie you around lap 44,” Bono said.

Hamilton did not respond further, maintaining his time of 1 minute 37.8 seconds, which is achievable with this hard tire setup.

The Williams team, having listened to the entire conversation, had no other choice.

Wu Shi had no choice but to do this in order to control tire degradation.

But if you do that, you won't be able to do it on the 44th lap.

After this conversation ended, even the director turned the camera away.

David, however, was still analyzing the specific situation:
"The neutral tire trap, if I had to summarize this race..."

Lewis had already tried a neutral fetus in his second stint.

"He maintained lap times almost identical to Wu Shi's on hard tires for almost the entire time. Did Williams think Hamilton was deliberately controlling his speed?"
"Clearly, Wu Shi is going to suffer a loss. The neutral tires don't provide enough advantage time, but their degradation is much faster than that of the hard tires. He has to try to find a balance."

“Even if it seems very easy for him to find his balance, it doesn’t matter in this game.”

After David finished speaking, no one in the front row paid any attention.

When Wu Shi's lap time kept dropping and finally stabilized at 1 minute and 38 seconds, the championship was no longer in doubt.

Because at this point, Hamilton's hard tires were still able to maintain vertical movement for 1 minute and 38 seconds.

Its performance far surpasses that of neutral tires!

The only good news for Williams is that Rosberg's lap times have dropped to around 1 minute 38 seconds, or even 1 minute 39 seconds.

Vettel seemed to see a glimmer of hope for something beyond.

However, whenever he catches up with Rosberg, he quickly falls behind in the corners.

Clearly, Ferrari struggled to gain effective downforce in the dirty airflow, essentially losing its ability to attack in corners.

So these two fought back and forth, but it didn't result in even a single change of position.

Hamilton continued to lead, widening the gap to 7 seconds, making the game even less exciting.

The back row drivers remained unchanged, except for Verstappen overtaking Sainz on lap 44 and Perez overtaking Ericsson on lap 48.

The race suddenly became just like Monaco, with nothing worth paying attention to except for the speeding cars and engine noise.

The audience was getting tired of these noises after the match had been going on for over an hour.

"Looks like this will have to continue until the end," the soldier said.

This time, there was no need for any external assistance, and the competition ended peacefully.

Finally, Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line again, winning the Japanese Grand Prix.

“Great game! Lewis, great game! Great result!” Bono sent a congratulatory message.

"You guys did a fantastic job! Man, you guys had a perfect weekend, I'm so glad to be back here, and thank you so much for your hard work! Everyone back home (at headquarters) too! Phew! Thank you!"

Hamilton spoke at length, and he was very excited, as if the shadow of his withdrawal from the Singapore tournament had faded away.

“Wu Shi, this race was also good; you managed your tires very well,” Jonathan said.

"Nico, you're recovering well, it's just a pity we had to accept this outcome."

The second and third place teams remained silent in the face of the team's TR.

“P4, Sebastian, we’re so sorry! P4, what a pity,” Ferrari TR said to Vettel.

Yes, I tried everything.

"I fell behind, and my tires reached their limit, so... I'm sorry."

"Ideally, we should have entered the station a round earlier."

"We didn't expect them to be so fast on the outer circle."

“I think we could have maintained our lead, and if we had, I think we could have managed to finish third.”

Vettel has begun to reflect on his decisions in TR, and he is trying to think of every possible way to win.

The drivers who scored points received congratulations from their teams.

Wu Shi drove back to the track quickly, parking his car behind sign number two, looking somewhat disappointed.

However, when his colleagues congratulated him, he still went up and hugged them.

“He looked very unhappy,” the guest said.

"Of course, starting from pole position and Rosberg making a mistake in the same row should have given us a huge advantage, but we didn't expect to lose the championship in the end."

"However, that's how competitions are; there's the champagne of victory and the evening breeze of disappointment."

"This young driver has the courage to challenge for the championship, so he will certainly not be discouraged by one race. I look forward to his next few Grand Prix races."

Hamilton once again won the race with an undisputed overtake.

If Rosberg were in his current form, he would actually have had a chance to challenge Wu Shi.

But he didn't. Surpassing Vettel and returning to third place was already a huge achievement.

The awards ceremony and post-match interviews were coming soon.

When the camera focused on Hamilton, he expressed full confidence, believing he would soon catch up in the points in the next game.

"Yes, I need to outscore him by at least 7 points in each of the next races. If my teammates can perform even better, I can secure the championship without even going to Brazil."

The old man rarely spoke so arrogantly in front of the media.

The interviewers were somewhat shocked, showing expressions of surprise.

When Wu Shi spoke, he showed neither pessimism nor self-confidence, but simply responded lightly:
"My points are still in the lead, aren't they? There's no need to ask that question anymore."

The interviewer immediately switched to a gossip question: "You and Lewis used to have a good relationship, what about now?"

The interviewer seemed to be stirring up trouble.

Rosberg sat on the podium to the side, playing with his hat, completely oblivious to what was happening around him.

Hamilton was quite interested in Wu Shi's answer.

"Of course, everyone is a life-or-death opponent during the race. If it's like that outside of the race, then I'm not a driver, but a killer."

The interviewer raised an eyebrow, said "well," and looked at Rosberg.

Rosberg's disappointment was evident to everyone.

Before going up to the podium, he silently watched the struggle between Wu Shi and Hamilton on TV in the lounge.

He drank water while reading, and after finishing, he picked up the towel on the table and handed it to Wu Shi, who was reviewing the strategy in his mind.

Then he said to Wu Shi, "He can be quite assertive at times, and it's hard for you to understand how he managed to keep up with you in Suzuka."

Wu Shi simply smiled and replied to this comforting remark, "I know."

Rosberg was clearly surprised; he thought Wu Shi would feel frustrated and swallow back the words he was about to say.

Immediately, his expression became filled with disappointment and anxiety.

He could neither outmaneuver his teammates nor Wu Shi.

In a post-match interview, Vettel stated that Rosberg was too weak and lacked aggression, which was his biggest problem.

The Japanese Grand Prix has concluded, leaving five Grand Prix events remaining.

After this game, Hamilton narrowed the gap to 7 points.

The difference in points between him and Wu Shi is only 22 points.

(End of this chapter)