F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 287 Ethane Production
“P3,” Jonathan announced the ranking to Wu Shi.

"We were driving along and suddenly we were in third place again," the soldier laughed heartily.

The camera lingered briefly on Wu Shi's Williams before turning to Hamilton.

The old man's position dropped due to a starting error and other reasons, and he is still stuck in the traffic jam.

In addition, the Melbourne circuit itself is not wide, so even if Sainz was blocking his way, Hamilton would not be able to get past him immediately.

Thus, Hamilton dragged on from lap 23 to lap 31 before attempting to overtake Sainz at Turn 13 again, but unfortunately, he failed once more.

Fortunately, Sainz then pitted to change to medium tires, which allowed Hamilton to finally catch up with Verstappen.

"I think Hamilton's form seems to have declined this year," the soldier said again.

“Logically, he should have gotten past Sainz as soon as possible,” Fei Ge nodded in agreement.

"Hey, but I have to say, Mercedes had several starting problems last year, why is it still having this problem this year?"

The soldier asked in confusion, "Last year, it was precisely because Mercedes-Benz was often a step behind at the start that Wu Shi had many opportunities."

"This problem hasn't been solved yet, and it's having a huge impact on the rhythm of the game," Fei Ge shook his head.

The fact that both Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz, who started from the front row, have now lost their positions is simply too abstract.

On lap 32, Rosberg closed the gap to within two seconds of Vettel.

By lap 34, this advantage had been reduced to 1 second.

Clearly, the Ferrari on the supersoft tires is about to give out.

On lap 36, Vettel pitted for soft tires, and then Ferrari had another problem: the left tire was difficult to install, and the tire change was not completed until 5.5 seconds later.

As Wu Shi drove along the straight road, he saw the tire change time and the abbreviation "VET" displayed on the sign.

I don't know whether to be happy or sad, because he came in second place.

"Oh wow, Vettel has fallen behind Hamilton. It'll be very difficult for him to catch up with the soft tires!" the soldier said.

"Not necessarily. The cars ahead of us have run more than ten laps on medium tires, so Vettel has a good chance of catching up," Fei said.

On lap 40, Hamilton closed to within one second behind Ricciardo.

On lap 42, the veteran overtook Ricciardo at Turn 1.

Ricardo then pitted to change tires.

Hamilton returned to third place, now trailing Wu Shi by less than two seconds.

“Hamilton is closing in on you; he’s 0.5 seconds faster than you every lap,” Jonathan reminded Wu Shi.

"I can't go any faster if I want to finish the race," Wu Shi said.

On lap 46, Hamilton caught up with Wu Shi, and the familiar battle of offense and defense seemed to be about to begin again.

However, at Turn 1, after Wu Shi blocked Hamilton's line and had a greater advantage on the way out of the corner, his acceleration was actually not as good as Mercedes'.

Swish!
Hamilton ruthlessly surpassed the past.

“Vettel is behind you,” Jonathan said.

On lap 47, facing Vettel's newer soft tires, Wu Shi had no way to continue blocking him and could only be overtaken in the DRS zone.

His ranking dropped to 4th.

Vettel, who had just overtaken Wu Shi, immediately sped up to catch up with Hamilton.

On lap 51, Vettel closed the gap to Hamilton by less than a second.

This speed was terrifying, but just when he had a chance to overtake Hamilton, he suffered a fatal slip, crashing into the run-off area and damaging the front wing.

At this point, Vettel had completely lost the potential to compete for a front-row position.

However, during this short period of time, Wu Shi had already fallen behind by 3 seconds and was unable to catch up with the Ferrari that had made a mistake.

Meanwhile, Verstappen was locked in a close battle with Sainz, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't overtake him.

Lap 57 – Because a second formation lap was taken, which took up one lap of the race, the race, which was originally scheduled for 58 laps, ended there.

The dramatic ending of the opening ceremony seemed to foreshadow what would happen throughout the year.

Over long distances, Mercedes cars have an exceptional ability to maintain their tires, a fact that Wu Shi can attest to.

Williams, who adopted the same strategy as Mercedes, would likely have lost his position if he hadn't managed to stay in the game.

On the podium, Rosberg was all smiles, Hamilton looked depressed, and Vettel wasn't much happier.

"Wu Shi, hello. You only achieved fourth place in this competition, which is not a good result for you."

“We saw that you rose to second place, but were overtaken by Lewis and Sebastian, and you didn’t stop them like you did last year.”

What caused this change?

The post-match interview was spot-on. Wu Shi glanced at Jennifer beside him and said:

“My tires weren’t in good condition at the time, and if I wanted to stop two people, I would have to pit again to change tires, which could have caused me to fall behind Ricciardo.”

"The situation with the car this year is better than I expected. I think the opening race is just the beginning. The whole season is still very long, and we have a lot of things to do."

The reporter nodded and continued, "Now that the qualifying format for the Bahrain Grand Prix has reverted to its previous form, will you be able to surprise us like you did last year?"

"Haha."

Wu Shi smiled upon hearing this and said:
“Yeah, you know I don’t like to comment on things that haven’t happened yet, but if everything goes as everyone predicts, what’s the point of the surprises?”

"Hahaha."

The reporter laughed along, and then, surprisingly, "abused his position for personal gain" by pulling out a Williams hat and saying:

"Could you sign this for me? My nephew admires you very much."

"Oh, of course."

Wu Shi took the hat and signed his name.

"Thank you!" the reporter said happily.

After the interview, Wu Shi returned to the P room and asked Jonathan:
"Is Fernando alright?"

“It’s nothing, I heard it’s just a broken rib and a cut on the knee,” Jonathan said.

"Phew, that's alright. I saw the replay when I came over, and that collision was terrifying," Wu Shi laughed.

Jonathan smiled and said, "I thought you would be upset because of the big difference in the vehicles."

"What's there to be sad about? Don't we know about the development of this year's race car? If I'm going to be sad about something we already know, how many things would I have to be sad about every day?"

Wu Shi responded with a smile.

"Haha, you're right." Jonathan patted Wu Shi on the shoulder.

News of the new season's opening match spread quickly, and online opinions were more complex than ever before.

Although Vettel only finished third, he still gave Ferrari fans hope for reviving the team.

Williams' speed wasn't as fast as expected, which led some critics to start emerging.

Fortunately, after winning a world championship, Wu Shi's fan base is already very large, and he is not afraid of these haters at all.

After all, all the fans need to do is reply with "Wu Shi was the 2015 world champion" to break the haters' defenses.

These events did not affect Wu Shi at all; on the contrary, the CCTV film crew from China made his free time very tight.

After winning the world championship, a documentary about him was already in the works.

And precisely because he is a world champion, the FIA ​​is very interested in making a documentary about him, and even expressed its willingness to cooperate with CCTV to make the film.

So everyone hit it off and started working on a documentary.

The FIA's calculations are also very clear: Wu Shi has a huge influence in China, which is very beneficial for opening up the F1 market.

In any case, according to some reporters, Wu Shi's own brand company has sold out of merchandise.

This is enough to demonstrate the huge potential of the market, and the FIA ​​also wants to increase their influence in China.

Subsequently, some explanations for Hamilton's starting error circulated online.

According to Mercedes, Hamilton mistakenly used the clutch when starting.

However, Rosberg also encountered the same situation; his start was not good.

Many media reporters began to delve into the internal situation of Mercedes-Benz, and finally obtained the following information:
It is said that Hamilton and Rosberg's driving crew was replaced this year.

The reporters did not specify whether the replacement had been completed or was in the process of being carried out.

This undoubtedly caused some commotion, but it was quickly suppressed and went unnoticed by anyone.

However, Rosberg's first victory still indicates that Mercedes' internal struggles this year may be even more intense than last year.

Toto has consistently emphasized this point: In 2015, they lost a world championship due to internal discord within the team, and he does not want to repeat the same mistake in 2016.

However, when asked how to mend this internal relationship, Toto could only say to ensure a fairer competitive outcome.

"So, did I tell you Ferraris are pretty good?"

Martina is now frequently in the paddock, which is also related to her job transfer.

"I can see that you guys are incredibly fast using softer tires," Wu Shi said with a smile.

"Haha, I'm so happy to receive praise from the world champion," Martina joked.

"The world champions would be more interested in seeing how you've made progress," Wu Shi joked.

Martina nodded and said, "There will definitely be opportunities in the future."

"what."

Wu Shi blinked; Martina no longer seemed so opposed to him joining Ferrari.

Moreover, these words always seemed to be testing the waters.

However, this year has only just begun, so there's no need to think about too many other things.

After returning to the factory in the UK, Wu Shi threw himself into the research and development of racing cars, just like last year.

Williams is preparing to make some aerodynamic modifications to address the excessive tire wear on its race cars. This involves drawing hot air into a new duct and distributing it elsewhere to keep the tires within their normal operating temperature range.

They also replaced the nose cone with a shorter one in an effort to further reduce resistance and achieve faster speeds.

But Wu Shi and Masa both knew that doing so would lead to a passive cycle.

Simple low drag is not enough to make F1 work, but Williams did not have enough funds and manpower to conduct aerodynamic research and development in a short period of time.

Therefore, they could only resort to trickery, but with Ferrari's engine already catching up, simply increasing speed by reducing drag would not bring enough advantage and might even result in greater losses in corners.

Before heading to Bahrain, Hpeng submitted a report to Wu Shi, which provided further disclosure and analysis of Williams' financial situation.

After reading it, Wu Shi took a deep breath.

Williams' championship win last year was disproportionate to the financial returns it brought, so Hpeng believes that Williams' operational strategy this year may be affected.

Wu Shi understood the implication: Williams might not choose to invest more money in this year's competition, or he might start seeking help from external capital.

He thought for a moment, then held a brief video conference with WS Ventures to inquire about the recent situation.

The company was newly established, and its staff was mainly brought in by Wu Zhenlin's connections.

After listening to the basic report, he believed that the company was still not capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility, so he did not share the information provided by Hpeng Company.

He could only call his father first; he couldn't control the situation.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhenlin burst into laughter over the phone:

"Haha, you're being too tense and sensitive. Williams team is indeed facing serious financial difficulties, but that's not enough to shake their resolve."

“The Williams family doesn’t easily agree to let anyone interfere in their management, but it’s good that you’re prepared.”

During the winter, Wu Zhenlin also gained a comprehensive understanding of F1 for Wu Shi's sake.

It has to be said that these business tycoons who have risen to high positions are very quick to learn these skills.

"Then what should I do?" Wu Shi asked curiously.

"Wait, if you have a lot of free time now, I think you should learn some knowledge about companies, economics, and management."

"Your three companies are each responsible for three different areas. This is just a framework I've set up for you. You'll still need to interact with the actual personnel involved."

"Hpeng was the first to be established, and Sid, as a core figure within it, doesn't need to be worried about. Your interests are deeply intertwined, but you still need to constantly maintain the relationship."

“WS RACING mainly operates in the country, which you can’t manage on your own, but I can keep an eye on it for you.”

"As for WS Ventures, you have to build it entirely yourself. It may be the core of your company, and you must control the personnel yourself."

Wu Zhenlin spoke at length, explaining that decades of experience in the business world were not something that could be taught in a short time.

Although Wu Shi had a headache, he was not impatient.

After the call ended, he felt like he was finally getting his brain working again.

This is a field I haven't really encountered or dealt with in either my past or present lives, so it definitely requires gradual exploration.

He did recall that both Hamilton and Alonso had likely run their off-field businesses in the same way he did.

We could talk to them about these things.

The qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix was expected to proceed as normal, but Jean Todt still had some ideas.

He suggested that either Q3 should proceed as usual, while Q1 and Q2 should continue to resemble the situation in Melbourne.

This naturally provoked widespread opposition.

But Jean Todt and Bernie remained determined to give it a try.

This attitude of forcibly pushing through the race despite the opposition of the teams and drivers immediately drew criticism from the FIA.

The Drivers' Association also issued an open letter demanding a review of F1's governance.

However, the drivers who were actually going to compete didn't dare to speak up easily, otherwise it would be terrible to be unfairly targeted.

In addition, on March 26, the FIA ​​issued a statement requiring drivers to stop posting videos showcasing behind-the-scenes footage of the paddock.

This appears to be a response to the new approach introduced in response to Hamilton's previous posting of videos of himself riding a motorcycle on social media.

Clearly, the FIA ​​still wants to manage the drivers' lives outside the paddock, believing that the drivers' unregulated attitude will affect the image of F1.

As a result, when Hamilton entered the Sakhir circuit on April 1, he directly filmed a vlog, clearly intending to go against the FIA.

Wu Shi quietly gave a thumbs up, saying that British citizenship is indeed powerful, and it's hard to imagine how the British media would criticize the other drivers for doing this.

While browsing Instagram, Wu Shi also saw a reporter reveal that Rosberg had heroically rescued a drowning toddler while walking on a beach in Monaco.

There's so much going on at the start of the new season.

I wanted to talk to Brother in the paddock about the management company, but it turns out that Brother will not be participating in the Bahrain Grand Prix due to injury, and Vandoorne will be participating in his place.

So he had no choice but to give up.

Williams brought an upgrade to Bahrain, but the effect doesn't seem to be very noticeable.

In the final ranking competition, Wu Shi only managed to achieve fifth place.

His time of 1 minute 30.733 seconds was nearly 0.5 seconds behind fourth-place Kimi.

Ricardo was only 0.1 seconds behind him.

Massa fared even worse, finishing eighth with a time of 1 minute 31.155 seconds.

The post-qualifying interviews have turned into a barrage of questions.

Wu Shi was getting a little annoyed, but as a driver, he had to participate in the press conference.

I thought he wouldn't be able to improve in the main race either, but Vettel exploded halfway through the warm-up.

Wu Shi was completely stunned by what he saw.

Is this a Ferrari?
Last stop Kimi, this stop Vettel, next stop Kimi again?

Anyway, Vettel's match was ruined, and what Wu Shi didn't expect was that his match would be ruined as well.

After the start of the race, Rosberg got off to a great start, overtaking Hamilton who was in pole position.

Kimi got into a fight with the old man, and Wu Shi tried to pick up the wallet, but the old man ruthlessly closed the door and smashed the front wing.

This caused Wu Shi's ranking to drop significantly, and he ultimately finished in seventh place, sandwiched between Verstappen and Kvyat.

Unsurprisingly, reporters immediately asked this question after the match, and Wu Shi said he had nothing to say.

Hamilton said, "I thought it was Massa."

This made Wu Shi laugh, but Hamilton's strategy was indeed very simple.

Rosberg is a rival, Kimi is a rival, Wu Shi is a rival—they're all rivals, so let's just get to it.

Even Toto's side was happy to see this result, saying, "This is a normal race accident. The start was very chaotic, and no one could control the outcome."

The consecutive defeats in the Grand Prix immediately excited some media outlets, who began writing articles saying that Wu Shi was no longer good enough. There was also an unknown "Han culture expert" who posted an article titled "The Tragedy of Zhongyong".

Wu Shi couldn't stand it anymore and immediately started arguing with these media outlets in the media.

The result was the same as Hamilton's: he was criticized by the FIA ​​for not paying attention to his image.

No one expected that Wu Shi and Hamilton would still be the most talked-about players in the new season, even though both of them are currently behind in the standings.

(End of this chapter)