F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 277 Abu Dhabi, I remember that place.
Mercedes reacted very quickly, bringing Hamilton in for a pit stop on lap 34.

However, unlike Vettel who switched to the old soft tires, Hamilton switched to the new medium tires.

Williams, on the other hand, was caught in a dilemma.

If Wu Shi changes tires, the time difference between him and Kimi will increase to 25 seconds.

Wu Shi needs to close the gap in the following time period and try to complete the move before Kimi's second stop, otherwise Kimi may catch up in the opposite direction.

Therefore, the new tires only have about 15 laps to run, which is undoubtedly a risk.

If Wu Shi does not change the tire, two possible outcomes will occur.

Overall, Wu Shi's lap time is significantly faster than Kimi's, giving him a chance to overtake him in the final stint.

However, it is also possible that Kimi will completely block his way, which is the more likely scenario.

If they had followed the previous strategy, Williams' decision-making team wouldn't have hesitated at all; they would have tried to pit for a tire change in order to gain more points.

But when the team's only goal was to consistently score points, they became conservative.

Entering the station carries risks, not just those extremely rare occurrences like train crew operational errors.

More importantly, if a safe car appears, someone else might take advantage of it.

At this point, Wu Shi will enter the station and fall behind Massa, Hulkenberg, Kvyat, and others.

But speaking of which, there is an even more important opportunity in not stopping for a tire change—the Mercedes duo, after the tire change, will fall behind Wu Shi.

If Wu Shi had made a slight obstruction, could it have affected Hamilton's score?
After all, lowering Hamilton's score is the same as Wu Shi scoring a few more points.

However, after seeing the lap time comparisons, Rodrigo felt it was still unrealistic.

After changing their tires, the Mercedes duo only needed one lap to make Wu Shi jump up and down.

The new engine needs to prepare for its final stage; it can't afford to act recklessly like before.

The problem is mainly with the tires; even a good engine won't help.

While Rodrigo was still discussing the matter with the strategy team headquarters, Jonathan's voice came through the internal voice chat:

"The risks we face now are known, but the risks in the final battle are still unknown, so I suggest entering the station."

“Understood, let’s proceed with the train.” Rodrigo nodded.

"it is good."

Jonathan pressed Wu Shi's TR and said, "BOX BOX BOX".

On lap 35, Wu Shi pitted to change tires, also switching to new medium tires.

After coming out, Wu Shi instantly slid down behind Koviat.

Hulkenberg also made it to the station this time, which means there's one less person blocking the way.

“Overtake them as soon as possible,” Jonathan said.

“Copy,” Wu Shi replied.

After 36 laps, Wu Shi didn't push hard, wanting to let the tires warm up.

The two Mercedes players in the front row overtook Kimi one after another.

Sure enough, Mercedes, with its new tires, took a huge lead, and Kimi barely had any chance to defend.

If it were Wu Shi, he probably would have been helpless as well.

On lap 37, Wu Shi displayed remarkable speed, setting the fastest lap time of 1 minute 15.3 seconds.

This speed is entirely due to the strategy changing from two stops to three stops, which made tire management much easier.

A set of neutral tires can be used to run more than 30 laps if you're careful, but now you'll probably only need to run 15 to 20 laps.

The extra capacity can be used for push.

Swish!
Before lap 37 was over, Wu Shi overtook Kvyat and continued to increase his speed.

On lap 39, he caught up with Massa but was let pass, and was now 19 seconds behind Kimi.

"This decision was correct. Without Kimi blocking his way, Wu Shi's lap times are extremely fast," Bing Ge said.

“嗯，现在吴轼圈速在1分15秒7的样子，而Kimi的圈速已经跌落到了1分17秒8。

"You know, Wu Shi was behind Kimi just now, and his lap time was slowed down to about 1 minute and 17 seconds. Now he's running much faster." Fei Ge nodded.

Then the two realized that the three-stop strategy for tomorrow was also quite good, but why didn't Kimi stop at the station?
Even if they didn't dare to enter before, they should be able to enter now that Wu Shi has.
"What is Ferrari doing? This decision-making is absolutely absurd!"

The soldier started spitting out words, but a smile remained on his face.

"Ferrari always likes to use a misaligned strategy, and today is no exception."

Feige reflected on Ferrari's performance this season and added.

The fact that the man closed the gap by nearly two seconds per lap is truly astounding.

However, Maurizio, the team principal standing below the Ferrari command wall, did not seem surprised.

These were all things the team had anticipated.

On lap 40, Vettel overtook Kimi and returned to third place.

On the same lap, Kvyat pitted to change tires.

On lap 41, Hamilton led Rosberg by 2.6 seconds, Vettel by 9.4 seconds, Kimi by 13.5 seconds, Wu Shi by 28.1 seconds, Massa by 31.9 seconds, Hulkenberg by 1 minute 05 seconds, Bottas by 1 minute 06 seconds, and Kvyat by 1 minute 07 seconds.

On lap 45, Wu Shi was just over 7 seconds behind Kimi.

But on the next lap, Kimi chose to pit.

"Hiss! Wu Shi didn't catch up with the second difference!" The soldier's smile vanished.

"Even in just 10 laps, they probably can't catch up to a single pit stop. Ferrari has also implemented strategic countermeasures," Fei Ge remarked.

Unlike the duo's unclear situation, Jonathan was quite clear about it, so he reminded them:

"Push".

Swish!
On lap 46, Wu Shi's lap time increased, reaching 1 minute 15.3 seconds.

On lap 48, Kimi completed his first clean lap with a time of 1 minute 15.4 seconds.

The scenario Williams anticipated had come to pass.

However, neither Rodrigo nor Jonathan were overly nervous.

Their well-prepared strategic plan told them that they would still have a chance to attack Kimi after the next tire change.

What they need to calculate now is the lap number in which Wu Shi made his third stop.

Because they were already out of sync with the front row of the podium, Vettel's strategy of pitting after 48 laps was not a viable option for Williams.

The two Mercedes-Benz players also completed their entry into the station and were already ahead of Wu Shi when they came out.

Clearly, Mercedes has done some research and development this time, making it even faster.

On the contrary, Vettel fell behind Wu Shi after the third stop.

However, Wu Shi doesn't have the ability to stop Vettel until the end of the match, so his current position is just a joke.

On lap 51, Hamilton set the fastest lap time of 1 minute 14.832 seconds.

On lap 53, Wu Shi finally made it to the pit.

Even after switching to the last set of neutral tires, he was still nearly 6 seconds behind Kimi.

However, with tires that were six laps newer than Kimi's, there was no need to worry too much about protecting them, and Wu Shi quickly improved his lap time to 1 minute 15.1 seconds.

Williams, who is clearly capable of going toe-to-toe with Mercedes, is not slow in clean air.

On lap 57, Wu Shi caught up with Kimi. Compared to his relentless pursuit of Hamilton, his attacks on the Iceman were much more moderate.

That's how it is in F1 racing. It's like a game of survival. Now it's Wu Shi who's afraid of withdrawing from the race, not Kimi. So naturally, you have to give the other one some face.

On lap 60, Kimi was unable to cope with the persistent DRS and was tricked onto the outside at Turn 1 and was unable to get back. Wu Shi then overtook him from the inside.

"P4".

Jonathan calmly announces the rankings.

At this point, Wu Shi was a full 13 seconds behind Vettel, and it was virtually impossible for him to catch up in the remaining 11 laps. Wu Shi's driving style began to become more conservative, and he unusually started to conserve his engine on the track.

At this point, the situation on the field was basically set, and it remained unchanged until the end of the match.

When Hamilton crossed the finish line, the staff in the Mercedes pit area merely clapped, without much celebration.

On the contrary, everyone in Williams stood up to celebrate, even more excited than when they received the podium.

Wu Shi gave a rare interview in the public interview area.

He had just wiped his sweat and walked in when a bunch of microphones were shoved into his mouth.

"Hey! Wu Shi, although you rarely get to stand on the podium, I know it's still worth celebrating."

"You started from 14th place today and have come all the way to 4th place, that's pretty good. How did you do it?"

Wu Shi rubbed his temples and said:

"Yes, I got 12 points, which is a very happy thing."

"As for why I was able to move from 14th to 4th place, I think it's mainly thanks to the team. They gave me a great car that I was able to operate."

"I actually encountered some problems when I was setting off."

At this point in Wu Shi's speech, the reporters all perked up their ears to listen.

"Because I hadn't tried starting from the back for so long, I didn't think things through enough when overtaking other vehicles. Otherwise, I should have been able to get a better position after the start."

The reporters were stunned. Was this some kind of boast?
"Um, should I wish you more opportunities to practice starting from the back seat in the future?"

The seasoned reporter immediately responded with a joke.

"Hahaha! No need for that. Some experiences only need to be experienced once," Wu Shi laughed.

"Hahaha."

The reporters laughed along and continued to ask:
"Yeah, you know, when you finished this game, you were leading by a full 19 points."

"That means even if Lewis wins in Abu Dhabi, you only need to finish 6th to win the world championship."

“We don’t think this is a difficult thing for you. You’re so close to the world championship. Do you have anything to say?”

Wu Shi looked into the distance, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"The competition isn't over yet, is it? The result isn't determined yet, is it?"

"What I want to say now is that I will still do my best to prepare for the last Grand Prix."

"No matter how close I am to the world championship, if I become complacent, stop moving forward, or even back down, I will never win the world championship."

The reporters couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"You are so composed that you don't seem like a young person."

Wu Shi smiled and said, "Composure is also an essential quality on the road to becoming a world champion, and I am working on it."

Back in the repair area, Wu Shi and Massa high-fived and shook hands, and Wu Shi said:

"Feel sorry."

Massa immediately grabbed his hand and said:
"You want to apologize? Apologize for what? This isn't my business, is it? It's just a nice wish that I haven't even fulfilled myself, so why would I complain about someone else?"

"Haha, I was overthinking it." Wu Shi laughed and hugged Masa.

In fact, if he had adopted the three-stop strategy from the beginning, he would have launched a fierce attack on Kimi, and might have had a chance to overtake him and then challenge Vettel.

But when it comes to competitions, it's pointless to always talk about things after the fact.

After all, the conditions in each game are different, but the winners are all the same – their cars are fast and stable, their drivers are fast and stable, and their strategies are fast and stable.

The reasons for those who fall behind are varied and numerous.

"Abu Dhabi, I'm waiting for your good news. I'm ready to celebrate!"

Massa patted Wu Shi on the back and looked at his face as he spoke.

Wu Shi nodded and said:
"Of course, Abu Dhabi, I remember that place."

"You've already been there?"

"No, but I do remember the final stop."

Wu Shi smiled.

At that moment, cheers erupted from the podium. Without even looking, it was clear that Ferrari was celebrating Vettel's second podium finish.

“Hey, you guys are all here?” Dave walked over at that moment.

"What's wrong? You don't look too good," Massa asked.

"There's bad news. We received information from the FIA ​​that your right rear tire was too hot at the start," Dave said helplessly.

"How can this be?"

Massa's first reaction was disbelief, but he quickly smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Fortunately, they weren't talking about Wu Shi's tires."

Wu Shi also shook his head; the drivers could only wait and hear the results.

Three hours after the race ended, the FIA ​​still decided to disqualify Massa.

The data they obtained indicated that the Massa tire was at 137 degrees Celsius, while the permissible temperature was 110 degrees Celsius.

Even though Williams appealed after the race, arguing that the FIA's data was incorrect, his claims were not accepted.

Before the final race – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – arrives, the FIA ​​is still trying to find ways to change F1.

They proposed the idea of ​​having an independent engine manufacturer produce an "alternative engine," believing that this method could balance the influence of the four brands in the competition.

Unfortunately, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren-Honda all disagreed.

This incident caused a huge uproar, even affecting the teams preparing for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It seemed like F1 wanted to ruin a few big teams, but the matter quickly faded away.

Is this yet another test of raising the issue high only to lower it gently?
During this period, the technical collaboration between Ferrari and Gene Haas caused a stir.

Mercedes believes Ferrari is using the wind time of two teams simultaneously and has requested the FIA ​​to investigate Ferrari.

In reality, this yielded no results.

Toto later stated that this was not to bother Ferrari, but rather to understand how the partner teams clarified their relationships.

After all, Mercedes is a factory team, and many teams use their engines.

They themselves may have had the idea of ​​using the wind tunnel time of their customers' fleets.

As a result, the FIA ​​was forced to issue a statement due to the overwhelming amount of evidence submitted by Mercedes and its overly sharp language.

It is said that Ferrari may indeed learn something through its collaboration with Haas, but there is no rigorous evidence to prove this.

However, the FIA ​​also stated that it will definitively define the scope of cooperation after the off-season.

The turmoil mainly affected Mercedes-Benz's factories and teams.

Williams, as a private team, didn't participate much; instead, they focused entirely on preparing for the race.

Even if Hamilton wins the Abu Dhabi championship, he can only pull ahead of Wu Shi by 6 points. In other words, Wu Shi would be able to take the lead if he finishes sixth.

Although seventh place would be enough for a tie, Hamilton clearly has more championships than Wu Shi this year.

In the event of a tie, Hamilton would still win the world championship, so the ultimate goal is still to get 8 points, which is sixth place.

Just as Wu Shi had discussed with Massa that day, Abu Dhabi left a deep impression on him.

But returning to Abu Dhabi brought a completely different feeling.

That time it was all or nothing; there was no choice but to fight to the death.

This time, the goal is to steadily secure the points we deserve, which will allow us to lock in the WDC.

If there is any difference between the two states of mind, it is probably that the latter is already filled with smug self-satisfaction.

But Wu Shi knew that only by taking ninety steps and then a hundred, and by laughing last, could he get everything he wanted.

On Friday, November 27, 2015, the practice sessions for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix began.

(End of this chapter)