F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 290 2016 Season (Part 2)

The W07 uses an active suspension.

When the news first broke, there were still some disbelieving voices in the paddock.

After all, active suspension was banned as early as the 1994 season, when Williams dominated the other teams for an entire season thanks to its active suspension.

However, a big-market team is a big-market team; they not only have unique technical capabilities but also a complete understanding of F1 technical regulations.

The active suspension currently used by Mercedes differs technically from the banned active suspension.

20th-century active suspension technology primarily involved adjusting the vehicle body through independent suspension structures to achieve maximum and stable aerodynamic downforce.

Mercedes' active suspension is more similar to the front and rear interconnect system that was banned in 2014.

The Front and Rear Interconnected Suspension System (FRIC) connects the front and rear suspensions via hydraulic lines, forming a unified hydraulic system.

The unified hydraulic system allows F1 cars to dynamically and automatically suppress body roll during braking, acceleration, and cornering.

In this way, the chassis always maintains the ideal posture with the highest aerodynamic efficiency.

The invention and development of this system are also related to the Williams and Lotus teams.

However, it was Mercedes that truly reached its peak in the 2013 season.

Even though it was quickly banned again.

The FIA's reason for banning the FRIC system is very clear: it violates technical regulations. This active adjustment of chassis height and attitude actually produces an active aerodynamic adjustment effect.

The technical regulations prohibit the use of active aerodynamic control devices (except DRS) by the team – including some later designs such as flexible canards, which violate these regulations.

So how did Mercedes manage to circumvent the active suspension bans imposed at the end of the 20th century and in 2014 this year?
It turns out that they changed the active suspension, which was originally unified by hydraulic lines, to one managed by sensors connected to software.

Furthermore, Mercedes did not mount it in the chassis, but rather in the middle of the vehicle's front fascia.

From this perspective, it appears to be the same as a traditional suspension, and it does indeed circumvent relevant technical regulations.

However, after the news broke, most teams still demanded that the FIA ​​ban the use of the device in 2017.

However, Mercedes would naturally disagree, and neither would Red Bull—they had already secretly developed their own.

Because no consensus has been reached, this issue will undoubtedly remain a subject of debate for a considerable period of time.

Clearly, even with the continuous improvement of technical regulations, the spirit of innovation still exists in the world of Formula 1.

Engineers used their ingenuity to search for any possibility that could bring even the slightest improvement to the race car.

Many cutting-edge technologies emerge under such strict restrictions and rules.

In addition, news from the hunting grounds kept coming one after another.

Red Bull Racing has announced the discontinuation of RB12 development, shifting its focus entirely to next year.

Meanwhile, the sale of F1 is still on the agenda, which makes it look like F1 is about to undergo a major change.

In fact, Bernie Ecclestone has been in dictatorship over F1 for far too long.

He and his partners worked together to develop and expand F1, and their contributions are undeniable.

But times are changing, and his management style is becoming increasingly unsuitable for the development of F1 as a whole, which is also related to his advancing age.

Regardless, everyone sees hope for the future development of F1.

Finally, in mid-September, the Grand Prix moved from Europe to Asia.

The Singapore Grand Prix was Mercedes' worst defeat last year.

But this year, they have solved the technical problems.

Rosberg secured pole position with a time of 1 minute 42.584 seconds, followed by Ricciardo in second, Hamilton in third, and Verstappen in fourth.

Wu Shi narrowly missed out on 7th place this time.

Williams didn't adapt to the track as well as expected.

The entire competition was uneventful, with the results of the main event not being significantly different from those of the qualifying rounds.

Rosberg won another championship, giving him a 10-point lead over his teammates.

As a result of this match, Wu Shi was overtaken by Ricardo and slipped to fourth place in the overall standings.

The next stop in Asia is Malaysia. This Grand Prix is ​​usually held at the beginning of the season, but it was postponed for various reasons and did not take place until near the end of the season.

The Sepang circuit has been repaved, and it is expected that tire wear may be accelerated.

After Hamilton's four-game winning streak ended in Germany, Rosberg started his three-game winning streak.

The competition for Malaysia will inevitably be fierce for them as well.

As the season nears its end, the driver market is starting to fluctuate again.

However, so far, Force India, Haas, and Renault have mainly confirmed their drivers for next year.

Red Bull has shown interest in Frenchman Pierre Gasly, but Gasly is currently battling Antonio Giovinazzi for the GP2 title.

In qualifying, Hamilton and Rosberg still occupied the top two spots.

Verstappen, in third place, is 0.570 seconds behind Hamilton, who is in pole position.

It might be because it's too hot in Malaysia. Massa had throttle problems on the warm-up lap and had to start from the pit lane.

Massa, who has already decided to retire, is probably indifferent to the decision.

As a result, the Malaysian Grand Prix was plagued by accidents, requiring three virtual safety cars.

The first virtual safety car appeared at the first corner of the first lap, where Vettel, Verstappen, and Rosberg were involved in a chain collision.

Vettel retired from the race due to a broken suspension.

Rosberg also fell directly to last place.

Hamilton, unaffected by the chaos, took the lead, but misfortune did not spare him.

Hamilton's engine blew up on lap 41.

The remaining dozen or so laps became a close-quarters battle between Ricciardo and Verstappen.

Just like Wu Shi did with the two Mercedes drivers last year, Verstappen also showed his tenacity when facing the champion.

The two battled until the very last lap, with Verstappen finishing just 1.4 seconds behind his teammate.

Rosberg chased all the way to finish third, widening the gap between himself and his teammate to 25 points.

Knowing that Ricardo had won the championship, Wu Shi didn't run away at all and just stood below the podium.

Sure enough, after the champagne celebration, Ricardo took off his shoes.

Rosberg even happily poured some wine into Ricardo's shoes.

Ricardo downed his shoey in one gulp.

Young Panzi stared in disbelief, then burst into laughter.

Ricciardo poured himself another glass of wine and handed the shoes to Horner, who had come to collect the team's trophy.

Horner didn't hesitate and downed it in one gulp.

The first warrior!
Seeing that Verstappen was still laughing, Wu Shi couldn't help but laugh along with him.

Sure enough, Ricardo returned to the table, filled his shoes again, pointed at Verstappen, and said, "A drink, please."

This terrified Pan Zi, who waved his hands frantically.

However, Wu Shi, standing below, led the shouts: "Drink! Drink! Drink!!!"

The Red Bull team, eager for a spectacle, joined in the shouting.

In the end, Panzi could only take Ricardo's shoes, put on the Pain Mask, and drink it all down.

Cheers erupted from the audience.

Ricardo then gestured to the crowd, indicating whether Rosberg wanted a drink.

The crowd continued to jeer, and Rosberg's smile shifted to Verstappen's face.

Rosberg took the shoe and drank it.

Cheers erupted again from the audience.

The interviewer didn't go up on stage until all four award recipients had finished their shoe-themed drinks, and then, laughing, threw Ricardo's shoe off the stage.

The cheers and laughter in Malaysia have subsided, and only five matches remain in the competition.

Perhaps unable to accept the widening gap between himself and his teammates, Hamilton publicly accused Mercedes of sabotaging his power unit after the game.

This caused a huge uproar in the hunting grounds.

To dispel these concerns, Mercedes announced that Hamilton and Rosberg would have the same engine inventory by the end of the year.

Mercedes also released the results of its investigation, stating that Hamilton's accident in Malaysia was caused by a drop in oil pressure leading to a connecting rod bearing failure. To ensure that the problem does not recur, they will use new engine oil at the Japanese Grand Prix.

In Japan, Rosberg secured pole position with a 0.013-second lead over his teammate.

In this qualifying session, all three major teams returned to their positions.

Mercedes-Benz ranked first and second, Ferrari ranked third and fourth, and Red Bull ranked fifth and sixth.

By the time Wu Shi finished in 7th place, he was already a full 0.6 seconds behind Ricciardo in 6th place. Clearly, as the hybrid season progresses, the R&D advantages of the three major teams are becoming increasingly apparent.

Unexpectedly, Hamilton encountered another difficulty getting off to a good start during the race.

He slipped a significant amount of space, though he managed to catch up step by step thanks to the car's performance.

Even Wu Shi didn't stop him much, but when he came behind Verstappen in the last few laps, he was ruthlessly blocked.

Hamilton was unable to regain his position until the end of the game.

Therefore, he only finished in 3rd place.

This match also proved Verstappen's talent and ability once again.

Everyone believed that if Verstappen were given a fast enough car, he could also become a world champion like Wu Shi.

Some people have already started to group Verstappen and Wu Shi together, calling them the strongest post-90s drivers.

Clearly, Hamilton, the two-time champion who was merely a backdrop, was in a very low mood.

The two contenders for the championship have now been separated by 35 points, a number that is somewhat similar and familiar to Hamilton.

The same situation occurred last year; even if he won all the remaining races, he might not be able to win the world championship.

If Rosberg can finish the tournament in second place in all four races, he will be the new world champion.

Hamilton was in a terrible mood.

Meanwhile, Mercedes has once again secured the Constructors' Championship ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, the internal team is facing a huge test.

Valdiselli, a track engineer and key figure in the team during the era of Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher, said Ferrari was in its worst period.

Ferrari no longer feels like a team; it's more like a group of terrified people coming together.

People stopped expressing their opinions and making decisions, for fear of making mistakes and losing the favor of management.

Baldiseri made these remarks because James Arison left Ferrari.

Arison is considered one of the strongest technical leaders in F1. He served as Ferrari's track aerodynamicist in 1999 and 2004 and was a key figure in Ferrari's six consecutive championships.

Between 2005 and 2013, he helped Alonso win two more world championships.

From 2013 to 2016, he stayed at Ferrari trying to revitalize the team.

However, he has now announced his departure.

This is clearly another instance of an internal power struggle within Ferrari that has gone unnoticed.

This bigwig left, and Mattia Binotto took his place.

Finally, Baldiseri stated that Ferrari would not return to its successful position for a long time.

Hamilton was still "stirring things up" ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix.

He declined Pirelli's tire testing at the Barcelona circuit due to a foot injury.

At the same time, he devoted a lot of energy to activities outside of F1.

While this made Hamilton the most influential driver in F1's public image, it also clearly prevented him from fully concentrating on driving.

Many fans believe Hamilton made a mistake and have criticized him.

Then Hamilton announced that he would play himself in Call of Duty, showing his willingness to respond to controversy with action.

Bernie, however, still stood up for Hamilton—the two had always had a good relationship.

Bernie Ecclestone believes that Rosberg winning the F1 World Championship is indeed a good thing for Mercedes, but it doesn't mean much for F1 as a whole; it's just an ordinary victory.

Clearly, the old man still believes that promoting F1 is more important.

However, it is obviously meaningless to distinguish who is better at winning the world championship based solely on these methods.

Wu Shi thought that Bernie might know something about the inside story of Mercedes and want Toto to do something.

However, conspiracy theories about Mercedes-Benz ensuring Rosberg wins a world championship have been circulating widely, so it's understandable that Wu Shi thinks this way.

He thought that as the person involved, he would see something different, but just as Massa told him, the area outside the track was too complicated and not so easy to see clearly.

Perhaps the only way to find out exactly how things turned out this year is when the old man retires and writes his memoirs.

After Massa confirmed his retirement, Williams had no choice but to find replacements.

They set their sights on 18-year-old Storol.

Wu Shi was taken aback. Was the young master coming?
But thinking about it, it seems that the young master did indeed join F1 around this time.

On the other hand, Toro Rosso announced the renewal of Kvyat's contract, which deprived Gasly of the opportunity to enter F1 next year.

The reason is simple: Marco believes Gasly did not perform well enough in GP2.

In addition, Red Bull's market presence in Russia is also a major factor.

Amidst a flurry of public opinion, the 18th race of the season, the U.S. Grand Prix, arrived.

Qualifying was still dominated by the three major teams, except that Red Bull and Ferrari switched positions.

Hamilton secured pole position with a time 0.216 seconds ahead of his teammate.

In the main race, Hamilton continued this advantage, while Rosberg also consistently secured second place.

This was not good news for Hamilton. When he was chatting with Wu Shi in private, he even said, "Why aren't you as good as you this year?"
Wu Shi scratched his head and said, "You'll have to give me a race car that can compete with yours."

Based on Williams' performance in the second half of the season, his total points are still ahead of Vettel and Verstappen, solely due to the two players' repeated accidental withdrawals.

Despite maintaining his advantage, Rosberg's mental state was not as good as expected.

When he arrived in Mexico, he had almost no smile on his face.

I usually chat with Wu Shi, but after arriving at the competition venue, he sat silently to the side.

Wu Shi felt the pressure emanating from him, just like in the final few games of last season. Rosberg was incredibly close to winning the world championship.

But it is precisely because I am so close to this coveted position that the pressure on my heart is immense.

Sure enough, in the qualifying session in Mexico, Rosberg once again finished second, 0.2 seconds behind his teammate.

However, for Rosberg, there was really no need to risk fighting for pole position anymore.

Wu Shi finished the qualifying round in a rare 4th place.

In the subsequent race, Hamilton undoubtedly won the championship, while Rosberg steadily secured the runner-up position.

This means the suspense remains in the battle for the championship title.

Verstappen and Vettel, who had initially performed well, dropped in the rankings due to penalty time.

Verstappen was penalized 5 seconds for leaving the track, while Vettel was penalized 10 seconds for interfering with another driver's normal driving.

Unfortunately, even though both of them were penalized, Wu Shi could only rank seventh.

Hamilton and Rosberg are now only 21 points apart with two Grand Prix races remaining.

Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Williams confirmed that Stroll will become their second starting driver in 2017.

Lawrence Stroll spent a whopping $8000 million to help his son secure this seat.

Upon hearing this news, Wu Shi couldn't help but sigh, "A young master is indeed a young master."

Furthermore, Lawrence stated that Williams' subsidies next year will reach $3500 million.

This money was actually given to Williams, which greatly alleviated his financial situation.

However, Wu Shi knew that this would be the beginning of Williams' decline, as no major team would accept a paying driver.

While paid drivers bring in funds, they can unnecessarily hinder the development of racing cars.

Before Storr entered the paddock, his father had also lavishly booked the entire paddock.

On four different F1 tracks, the young man took his 2014 Williams FW36 race car for track testing.

Of course, Wu Shi also benefited from this, as Storr College donated a brand new simulator to Williams.

On the other hand, the driver market is also in turmoil. Renault hopes to acquire better drivers, but currently no drivers are willing to join them.

Wu Shi was also on the list of those who refused to join.

Meanwhile, Ocon, who replaced Pascal in driving the Manor car in the previous races, is also leaving Renault and will join Force India.

Vettel faced a lot of criticism for his poor performance in the last game, and some even started to speculate that Wu Shi would replace him next season.

However, Wu Shi had not communicated with Ferrari until the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Therefore, it is clear that many rumors are fabricated out of thin air.

Wu Shi finished 7th in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and being dominated by the three major teams has become the norm this year.

After all, human strength has its limits.

However, rain fell at Interlagos on Sunday morning, and the track was completely soaked.

(End of this chapter)