F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 272 He lied to us twice?
The so-called Plan C is actually about using tire differences to fight.

The Mexican Grand Prix has a total of 71 laps, and both one-stop and two-stop strategies are viable.

The one-stop strategy involves starting on soft tires and then switching to medium tires, with the tire change taking place approximately 30 laps in advance.

This puts a lot of pressure on both sets of tires; the former will run at least 30 laps on soft tires, while the latter will run more than 40 laps on medium tires.

The recommended two-stop strategy is to use yellow-white-white or yellow-white-yellow tires, with tire changes occurring around lap 25 and lap 50.

This is a relatively safe approach.

In fact, the biggest suspense at this station is how each team will adopt their strategies.

Since Wu Shi is going to use the difference in tire quality to compete, he will choose the two-stop option no matter what.

However, one cannot reveal their thoughts beforehand.

So he gradually fell behind by 0.3 or 0.4 seconds in each subsequent lap.

This will reassure Hamilton ahead of him, and it will also reassure Mercedes' strategy team.

In fact, as more and more laps were played on the new track, the gaps between the new asphalt were gradually filled with rubber particles.

This results in the track conditions constantly improving, leading to an increase in lap times for both front and rear drivers.

像是两辆梅奔和吴轼，圈数从最开始的1分25秒到1分24秒，再到第20圈以后提升到了1分23秒。

This improvement can easily lead drivers and teams to misjudge tire conditions.

Wu Shi, however, could sense that the tire wear and the decrease in lap time were not directly related.

This should happen when the tires reach a certain limit, at which point the performance will experience a precipitous drop.

This is actually a requirement that F1 places on Pirelli's tire design.

However, there haven't been many tests, and the teams don't have a clear understanding of this limit as much as one might imagine.

Wu Shi predicted that this set of soft tires would not have much of a problem maintaining speed even after thirty laps.

In other words, Pirelli's one-stop strategy is actually quite good.

However, he couldn't wait that long, so he chose to pit on lap 25.

He naturally switched to medium tires upon entering the pits. Verstappen entered the pits on the same lap as him, and at that moment, none of the other riders made any moves.

"Wu Shi has stopped at the station early to change a tire! What's their strategy? One stop or two stops?"

"Arriving at the station so early, they must be opting for a second stop."

"That's not quite right. It's also possible that the tires were worn out too much earlier, so we had to enter the pit early."

The commentators were speculating about Williams' intentions, and Mercedes was also considering their options.

Bono TR: "Wu Shi has entered the station. How are the tires feeling?"

"Ssss, is he planning a second stop? I feel like the tires are going pretty fast," Hamilton replied.

“We must follow his lead,” Bono said.

Hamilton did not speak, but was immediately given the order to enter the station.

The newly fitted neutral tires did improve the speed considerably, but with the two laps ending in a pit stop, Wu Shi couldn't erase the previous speed difference.

Hamilton was still ahead of Wu Shi after he came out.

The two quickly set new fastest times, both in the 1 minute and 22 second range.

This is almost 0.7 seconds faster than Rosberg when he was using the old soft tires.

So Rosberg was immediately recalled to change the tire, but after coming out, he was still stuck in front of Wu Shi.

The actions of the three drivers in the front row immediately triggered a series of tire changes by the drivers behind them.

Button was the last to change tires, holding on until the 30th lap.

It seems highly likely that he will be taking a break.

On lap 40, Hamilton and Rosberg lapped Vettel first, but Wu Shi, who followed, was blocked.

"Blue flag".

Wu Shi immediately shouted in TR.

Vettel finally gave up his position on lap 41.

This undoubtedly caused Wu Shi to fall behind by nearly 0.45 seconds.

However, shortly after passing Vettel, Wu Shi's lap times suddenly began to improve.

It reached 1 minute 21.4 seconds.

After being reminded by Mercedes, Hamilton and Rosberg gradually improved their lap times.

However, they were unable to maintain a lap time within 1 minute and 21 seconds, and fluctuations were frequent.

With this lap time, Wu Shi made his first attempt to get close to Rosberg's one-second zone.

Rosberg was only 1.7 seconds away from Hamilton at that moment.

In other words, the three people were quite close to each other.

On lap 45, Wu Shi launched an attack on Rosberg.

"Wu Shi is preparing for a second halt."

When Mercedes saw Wu Shi sprinting like that, he immediately made this judgment.

They then began to wait for Wu Shi to make his move.

Sure enough, on lap 47, Wu Shi tried for two laps but failed to overtake Rosberg.

Jonathan's voice rang out: "BOX BOX BOX."

Mercedes immediately synchronized their actions because the time difference between Wu Shi and Hamilton was too small.

If they were to skip a lap, both Mercedes players would likely be undercut by Wu Shi.

And to be on the safe side, they only recalled Hamilton, while Rosberg will remain on the track.

This way, whatever Williams' actual intentions are, they will have a way to deal with them.

However, when Bono shouted in TR, "Box Box!"

Hamilton immediately questioned this in TR:

"Why are we stopping? These tires can go all the way!"

Bono replied: "Wu Shi has chosen to enter the station, BOX BOX!"

Hamilton agreed to carry out the plan.

At the end of lap 47, Hamilton, who was in the lead, turned his car around and entered the pit lane.

However, Wu Shi, who was behind him, did not enter the station. After DRS was activated, he directly followed Rosberg.

Mercedes immediately realized they had been tricked, but they weren't too worried.

"Nico, slow down Wu Shi, we need your lap time to be 1 minute 22.5 seconds," Mercedes said.

Upon receiving the instruction, Rosberg did not hesitate any longer and immediately chose to defend the center line at Turn 1, braking and slowing down in advance.

Thus, Wu Shi, who was in the following car, would have no choice but to follow his rhythm into the bend.

However, anyone who has seen Master Pey's 7-second lap time against the old man in 2021 knows that doing so comes at the cost of engine and tire damage.

Would Rosberg go to such lengths for Hamilton?
Obviously not, so this is just simple defense, and even somewhat perfunctory.

So when Wu Shi saw Rosberg's routine defensive moves, his real offensive began.

The inside line at Turn 1 cannot directly carry over the advantage to Turn 2.

When Rosberg entered the paint to defend, Wu Shi chose to turn to the left and try to suppress Rosberg from the outside.

He briefly overtook Rosberg at Turn 1 by braking later.

However, Rosberg will be faster as he enters the next corner, and will immediately catch up with the team that was behind.

Wu Shi remained calm and composed; his extremely sensitive steering allowed him to turn the car around and land precisely on Rosberg's left rear wheel.

His subsequent acceleration was entirely aimed at throwing the car into the apex of Turn 2.

Rosberg, unlike Hamilton, wouldn't completely push his opponent out of the track, which caused Wu Shi to step into the apex of Turn 2.

The next turn, Turn 3, is another right-hand turn, with the apex still on Rosberg's side.

After a change of ownership, Rosberg regained the lead in the car's position.

But then came the second DRS, and Wu Shi didn't stop. In overtaking mode, Williams was incredibly fast.

The speeds of the two race cars in a straight line were immediately equalized.

Heh!

Before Turn 4, Wu Shi pulled into the inside lane, and Rosberg braked suddenly to block him.

Amidst a cloud of white smoke, Williams emerged first from the apex of Turn 4.

Then Wu Shi began the most risky maneuver of the day, using his excellent front wheel steering to immediately steer the entire car sharply to the right.

Closing the door like that completely disregarded Rosberg's lane behind him. However, upon seeing this, Rosberg seemed to have PTSD and immediately swerved to the right.

He was already struggling to enter Turn 4, and this action slowed the entire car down to an unbelievable degree.

hiss!

Before Turn 5, Wu Shi rushed out from the center line, then accelerated rapidly on the short straight, and braked at the limit again near Turn 6, turning from the center line into the inside line.

By this time, Rosberg had already been left behind.

"A brilliant overtake! Wu Shi has taken the lead!"

After David finished recounting the details of the match, he clapped his hands and shouted.

zizi.

After being overtaken, Rosberg's voice immediately rang out in the TR:
"He's the same as Lewis."

These words sound full of resentment.

However, in the next lap, Rosberg suffered two DRSs in a row, immediately overtaking Wu Shi.

It's even easier to surpass them.

Clearly, when Williams is cruising normally, he is no match for Mercedes.

Wu Shi was not discouraged. He had tormented this set of neutral tires terribly, and his attack just now was merely a move to implement his strategy.

“Nico, well done, you’ve created a gap, no need to stop him,” Mercedes said.

Wu Shi's sudden aggressive attack just now made the Mercedes team break out in a cold sweat.

"Oh dear! What a pity." The soldier shook his head after seeing Wu Shi being overtaken.

"Overtaking mode puts a lot of stress on the engine. With two races left, Wu Shi can't possibly use the engine without restraint," Fei Ge said.

Swish!
第48圈一闪而过，第49圈汉密尔顿新软胎干净圈，1分20秒853。

"What is Wu Shi going to do now! He's been pulled back for almost a second!"

"Failed entry spoofing!"

The two Sky Sports commentators immediately commented.

"What are Williams doing?! Didn't they anticipate that the new soft tires would be so much faster?! Why aren't they letting Wu Shi into the pits?!" The soldier was furious when he saw this.

Fei Ge also couldn't understand, but still forced himself to say:

"Perhaps Williams doesn't predict that the new soft tires will be released so quickly."

"They want to run more on the old medium tires so that Wu Shi can compete against Hamilton on the new soft tires. Only in this way can they succeed."

"But what's the point? Rosberg could just use the same strategy as him, couldn't he?"

The soldier shook his head, looking dejected.

"Heh, do you think they're going to wait for a safety car? Impossible! This track isn't difficult, why would they need a safety car!"

Fei Ge also sighed. Third place is a pretty good result for most drivers, but for Wu Shi, it was a very dangerous result.

“Let Wu Shi enter the station,” Rodrigo said.

"I know."

Jonathan nodded and immediately gave the "BOX" command.

Given the speed of Hamilton's new soft tires, Mercedes was once again forced to pit simultaneously.

Otherwise, Wu Shi could have gotten the desired results by first undercutting Rosberg.

At the end of lap 50, Rosberg pitted, while Wu Shi still did not!
"My God! What is Williams trying to do?!"

"Is Wu Shi planning to run over 50 laps with those tires?!"

"How is that possible? Lewis is only losing by a second per lap! With twenty laps left, Wu Shi will definitely be caught up and easily overtaken! Rosberg will do the same."

Such doubts are not only in the minds of every commentator, but also in the minds of the audience. Why did Williams deceive Mercedes twice?
Are we supposed to wait for Rosberg to come out and give him a seven or eight-second head start before letting Wu Shi go into the station to chase after him?

Is it possible to get it back that way?
Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the Williams repair room was eerily quiet.

When their racing cars are inferior to others, they must try their best even if there is only a sliver of hope.

Both Mercedes cars have now been pitted for tire changes, and they've been fitted with softer tires that offer higher speeds, which will immediately widen the gap between them and Wu Shi.

罗德里戈看着屏幕上的曲线，如果新软胎吴轼只跑15圈，那么他可以将圈速稳定在1分20秒8到1分21秒1。

This would bring Wu Shi incredibly close to the speed of Mercedes-Benz.

Wu Shi's stability will ensure that the data they calculate is absolutely reliable.

Although Mercedes' older tires can also reach similar speeds, they are not as stable as Wu Shi's!

一会儿1分21秒7，一会儿1分20秒7，上上下下的波动间，就是吴轼的机会。

Moreover, based on past competition experience, Rosberg is quite likely to make mistakes if the pressure is high enough.

This is the only way they can currently think of to give Wu Shi a chance to surpass Mercedes-Benz.

On lap 52, just as everyone was preparing to check Rosberg's lap time, Vettel missed his braking point at the first "S" turn.

The Ferrari galloped toward the green area of ​​the buffer zone like a hungry horse.

Bang!

The second timing segment turns yellow, at which point the safety car is deployed.

This sudden collision was beyond everyone's expectations!
No one expected that something like this would happen on this track, where someone crashes into the wall and triggers the safety car.

What's more, the driver featured on the wall is none other than four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel!

"BOX! BOX! BOX!"

Jonathan was so excited that he didn't even need the strategy team to offer any advice.

Wu Shi was puzzled, but still chose to enter the station.

"Wow! This looks promising!"

"Wu Shi has entered the station! The safety car has been deployed!"

The sudden appearance of the safety vehicle immediately excited all the commentators.

I thought the game was over, but I didn't expect there to be a bigger one!

The broadcast camera shifted from Claire's smiling face in Williams' pit room to Toto's expressionless face and Nicky Lauda's serious expression.

"Has Wu Shi just entered the station?" Hamilton's voice rang out in TR.

“NO,” Bono replied.

"He lied to us twice?" Hamilton retorted.

Bono stopped talking.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Wow! Let alone Mercedes-Benz, which of us hasn't been fooled?"

Fei Ge and Bing Ge realized what was about to happen and immediately beamed with joy.

There was no indication that the two had just been complaining about Williams's reckless decisions.

After Wu Shi changed tires and left the station, he continued to maintain his first position on the field.

On lap 56, the safety car allowed the car to untangle itself.

On the field, Wu Shi was in the lead, followed by Hamilton, Rosberg, Kvyat, Ricardo, Massa, Hulkenberg, Perez, and Verstappen.

“Lewis, his tires are five laps newer than yours, and there are still 14 laps left in the race,” Bono said in the TR.

"SO?"

Hamilton asked, his tone quite angry.

“If you can’t try to surpass him, we think you should let Nico do it; his tires are almost identical to Wu Shi’s,” Bono said.

"What's the point? If I don't win the championship, none of it matters."

Hamilton paused for a moment, then said, "I will only have a chance if I surpass him and win the championship."

"Yes, that's what we'd like you to do too. Five laps don't have as much of an impact on this soft tire as you might think."

Bono breathed a sigh of relief; Hamilton was very determined.

Because of its short distance, the Rodriguez Brothers circuit didn't wear out the tires much in five laps.

In theory, it wouldn't be difficult for Hamilton to surpass Wu Shi, just like Rosberg just did.

However, one thing is one thing, and putting an old tire into a new one will eventually come at a price.

Now, Lewis can only trust himself and trust W06.

'cunning!'

Hamilton developed a new opinion of the young driver.

(End of this chapter)