F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 294 First Appearance at Mercedes
"Wu Shi has come out driving the Mercedes-Benz. This is his first official appearance of the new season. We'll soon find out how well he's adapted to the new car!"

The silver arrow, bearing the number 59, arrived at the track.

On the first lap, Wu Shi, as required by the team, first checked the condition of the car on the track.

So this lap was quite slow, taking a full two and a half minutes to finish.

He was then recalled to the maintenance area.

The situation was the same for Hamilton; after a long lap, they both entered the pit lane.

Mercedes' engineers and mechanics stepped forward to diagnose the race car based on data collected over the years and the condition of the car during the recent short run.

The main purpose of this trip is to check for any stability issues with the race car.

Because of the major changes to aerodynamic rules in 17, even Mercedes cannot guarantee that they will still have an advantage, so they are being extremely cautious in the opening race.

Twenty minutes later, the basic checks on the race car were completed, and it was ready to go back on the field.

This time, we need to try to run at a sufficient speed.

Wu Shi is much more serious today than he was at Williams last year, because his and Hamilton's tuning data will not be shared, and he has to do all the data himself.

After the starting lap and the warm-up lap, he began to speed away.

After one lap, he ran a time of 1 minute and 26.7 seconds. Jonathan reported in the TR: "0.3 seconds."

Wu Shi knew that this was a comparison with Hamilton's recent flight.

“After the cooling process is complete, speed things up,” Jonathan said.

"Copy".

After Wu Shi responded, he slowed down slightly on the track.

Mercedes' engine felt familiar to him, after all, Williams also used Mercedes engines.

However, the brakes, transmission, and aerodynamics are completely different.

Mercedes' initial braking force is very strong, but after the peak, the force drops rapidly, a characteristic that is very different from Williams'.

As for aerodynamics, he could feel a much stronger downforce than Westbrook simply by accelerating.

Even though Mercedes also likes to work with low-drag tuning, it's different from Westbrook's low-drag setup.

The team's drag is truly low, so low that there is virtually no downforce.

Mercedes does a better job of balance in this regard; at least in most corners, Wu Shi experienced the feeling of the tires being pressed against the road.

Of course, these differences may also stem from the major rule changes in 17—wider cars and wider tires naturally lead to better stability in corners.

Wu Shi also noticed the car's shortcomings, namely its extreme sensitivity to airflow.

Once the speed drops below a certain value, the downward pressure will plummet, and there may even be fluctuations.

This suggests that the W08 may be at a disadvantage in low-speed corners.

Regarding the transmission, well, he now understands why the old man and the princess had frequent problems starting last year.

Mercedes designed its gearbox in a very radical way to enhance the responsiveness of its race cars.

This narrows the transmission's operating window, meaning that both excessively high and low engine speeds will affect power output.

Most importantly, this will also affect traction stability.

Persecuted by these two shortcomings, Mercedes-Benz was bound to encounter significant problems at the start.

Even though Wu Shi didn't drive last year's Mercedes-Benz, he knew from the feel of this transmission that many of the added designs were to facilitate the meshing process.

Clearly, W08 is trying to change the situation from last year.

The good news is that this change is effective; at least Wu Shi can still get off to a good start even without consciously trying to feel the car, simply by following the data provided by Jonathan.

The key issue is that the start is the easiest stage to gain an advantage in the entire race, and a mediocre start is a waste of a great opportunity.

Therefore, Wu Shi was eager to know that crucial parameter point, as it would be of vital help to him at the start of the race.

He also knew this was his advantage, because this year's start still followed last year's rules, and teams were not allowed to instruct drivers on the start.

After rounding Turn 14 of the Albert Park circuit, Wu Shi took a deep breath, cleared his mind of all distractions, and began to speed away.

Jonathan watched the data constantly popping up on the screen in front of him and silently noted down the key figures.

He possesses a sensitivity that other engineers lack—a sensitivity specifically tailored to Wu Shi's driving style.

These data will provide Wu Shi with a basis for adjustment later.

Swish!
Soon, the lap ended, and Wu Shi's time was 1 minute 25.311 seconds.

Hamilton finished the race even earlier with a time of 1 minute 25.535 seconds.

"Good."

After giving a compliment, Jonathan asked:

Should we drive a few more laps or return to the pit area?

"Let me experience this race car more."

"OK."

Wu Shi remained on the track.

Toto overheard these conversations and finally understood why Wu Shi insisted on Jonathan's assistance.

If it were Mercedes' original track engineer in charge, upon seeing that Wu Shi's lap time was faster than Hamilton's, he would definitely have ordered him to return to the pits.

Mercedes' practice sessions are primarily for testing the car, not for revealing lap times.

Of course, Toto also believes that Wu Shi-Jonathan's team, having experienced the championship battle, will certainly understand this.

Indeed, this was the case. After passing the cooling ring, Wu Shi completed a short cruise, with a lap time of only 1 minute 30.111 seconds.

After the cruising lap, the speed increased again, and the time was 1 minute 25.142 seconds.

After completing the lap, Wu Shi returned to the pit room and began communicating with his performance engineer, Marcus Dudley.

Jonathan also participated in the discussion.

Dudley was somewhat surprised, but he didn't say much. Instead, he analyzed the data he had just collected.

Drivers rely more on their feel for the car to drive on the track, while engineers use data to determine how much performance the car can still be pushed to its limits.

Dudley was very experienced and had a keen eye for data analysis. He quickly pointed out areas where Wu Shi could improve.

Wu Shi nodded repeatedly as he listened. Even though he could fully understand the vehicle's condition, he could not fully comprehend the matching of vehicle control with the environment.

Dudley provided a good direction; we just need to try it out when he goes on the field, and we'll know the result.

After listening, Jonathan also gave his opinion, circling the key data points.

"You mean the data on total torque conversion?"

Dudley frowned, but then his eyes lit up:
"I'm sorry, I haven't fully adapted to Wu Shi's driving style yet. Such frequent adjustments are impossible for other drivers, but not impossible for Wu Shi."

Dudley patted his head again. Back in 2015, the engineers in both of their crews had an extra task: to observe Wu Shi's driving.

At that time, he noticed that Wu Shi made more frequent adjustments to the vehicle than the other drivers.

Unfortunately, in 2016, with Williams' decline, Mercedes stopped paying much attention to Wu Shi.

This actually made him forget some things.

"I understand, I will calculate more precisely."

Dudley quickly typed some data into the keyboard and then discussed it with the other three engineers beside him.

This brief discussion lasted for more than twenty minutes.

Engine performance engineers adjusted the engine's output power in different modes to suit Wu Shi's driving style on this track, taking into account his condition.

Soon, the old man finished adjusting and returned to the track.

After the start lap, the old man improved Mercedes' time to 1 minute 24.220 seconds.

"Wow, Mercedes' momentum is still so strong. Is this year going to be another year where the outcome is a foregone conclusion?"

It's no wonder the commentators were so surprised, because Red Bull and Ferrari both achieved times of just over 1 minute and 25 seconds.

The old man directly improved his time to 1 minute and 24 seconds, which is not a small difference.

"For reference, it's 24.220 seconds," Jonathan told Wu Shi.

Upon hearing this, Wu Shi quickly familiarized himself with the car's adjustments through the initial laps and soon achieved a time of 1 minute 24.115 seconds.

Five-thousandths of a second.

Upon hearing that he was faster than Hamilton, Wu Shi was not pleased, but rather slightly surprised.

He just gave it a casual push!

Perhaps it was because he hadn't driven a top-class race car in the paddock for so long that he felt a strong sense of disorientation.

The speed test was called off, and Wu Shi returned to the maintenance area. His next task would be a long-distance test.

Meanwhile, Hamilton underwent another round of speed testing. It's unclear whether he was suppressing his abilities or doing something else, but Hamilton only managed a time of 1 minute and 24.5 seconds.

Finally, Wu Shi and Hamilton cruised for 6-8 laps on the track.

Stop the clock after one practice session.

Toto looked at the report card in front of him and was quite satisfied.

However, no matter how good the data is after a practice session, it's never something to be happy about.

The second training session began at 4 PM.

As with the first practice session, try to unleash more performance and find the vehicle's maximum speed.

Then, a routine cruise test is conducted to assess vehicle stability and tire wear.

Hamilton set a time of 1 minute 23.620 seconds, which seemed like a show of defiance against Wu Shi.

This time, Wu Shi didn't swipe very fast, responding with only 1 minute 23.711 seconds.

The difference of less than 0.1 seconds is not worth mentioning.

On the contrary, Vettel only managed a fastest time of 1 minute 24.167 seconds, which is not good news for Mercedes and Ferrari.

Toto never wanted Mercedes to stand out too much, otherwise they would easily be criticized.

But unexpectedly, this trend reappeared as soon as the practice matches began.

Ferrari, on the other hand, is somewhat frustrated. They are not as fast as Mercedes. What should they do in the race?
Next, the long-distance test began.

Wu Shi only ran 10 laps before returning to the pit area, where he told his engineering team:

"Tire wear is too high, especially on the rear tires."

Dudley looked at it and said, "Yes, we are aware of this problem, but for now, this seems to be the best overall solution for both single laps and long distances."

“We’ll be at a disadvantage over long distances. Perhaps we should adjust the car and tune it towards understeer,” Wu Shi said.

Mercedes' race car has the longest wheelbase in the paddock, and to ensure agility in corners, engineers have appropriately increased steering sensitivity.

Hamilton is also well-suited to cars with oversteering.

However, oversteer often means putting a lot of strain on the rear wheels, especially with frequent rear-end slippage during handling.

“I understand what you mean, but understeer will slow the car down, and I think this is the fastest I can do right now.”

Dudley said, frowning slightly.

“Yes, I know, but I hope to find that balance again,” Wu Shi said.

"it is good."

Dudley nodded.

If a rookie driver offered him this advice, he definitely wouldn't listen.

But the man in front of us is the youngest world champion, and his words carry considerable weight.

After adjustments, Wu Shi changed tires and went back on the field.

I ran 6 laps in the last bit of time.

Dudley checked the condition of the car as soon as it returned.

The rear wheels are in much better condition than before, while the front wheels do not exhibit the kind of particle-like understeer that can occur with understeer.

“It looks like things will be better over a long distance, but can you be sure the lap time won’t drop?” Dudley asked after Wu Shi got out of the car.

“I don’t think it will be much slower than the previous setup, because the car is still essentially tuned for sensitive steering, but a smoother driving experience will allow the car to balance between the two,” Wu Shi said.

“You looked at our data? No, you didn’t. Then your perception of the vehicle’s condition is absolutely terrifying,” Dudley said.

"Oh, thank you for the compliment." Wu Shi smiled slightly.

Mercedes took an impressive lead after Friday's two practice matches, reigniting anxieties that the season might turn dull.

However, both Wu Shi and Hamilton were reminded by their press officers that Ferrari was hiding its true strength.

Sauber driver Wehrlein was unable to continue the race due to a back injury before the start of the race on Saturday morning, so reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi took his place.

This driver is a familiar face; he has raced in F3 alongside Wu Shi and Verstappen.

Soon, the final free practice match began.

The traditional activity of the third practice session is to simulate qualifying, so each team has to test their lap times.

Wu Shi and Hamilton achieved a time of 1 minute 23.8 seconds.

It's comparable to last year's pole position time of 1 minute 23.837 seconds.

Vettel clocked a time of 1 minute 23.380 seconds, which greatly satisfied Ferrari.

The anxiety of the crowd has been relieved, and perhaps there will be another exciting battle between Ferrari and Mercedes.

And so, in the paddock filled with anxieties and other emotions, at 5 p.m., the qualifying round for the opening race of 2017 began.

"The target lap time is 1 minute and 24 seconds," Jonathan told Wu Shi directly.

"it is good."

Wu Shi straightened his clothes, got into the car, and waited for instructions from the convoy.

Three minutes and 30 seconds later, the command was given, and he started 8 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

After slightly increasing speed on the final lap, the tires quickly reached operating temperature.

He had driven the Albert Park circuit many times and was extremely familiar with every corner.

Driving a more stable race car always gives me the urge to push the limits.

However, this is only Q1, and the engine power is not yet at full capacity, so this impulse can only be suppressed until Q3.

hum!
After rubbing past the curb at Turn 16, the car entered the main straight. With its powerful engine and DRS, the car's speed increased rapidly.

Effortlessly slow down at Turn 1 and enter the turn, then smoothly enter Turn 2 after exiting the turn.

The entire route is perfectly straight, without the thrill of pushing the limits.

But even with this leisurely stroll, the car maintained a fairly good speed throughout the entire lap.

吴轼以1分24秒340完成了Q1的第一个飞驰圈，排名第一。    随即59号银箭进入维修区。

Hamilton, who started speeding about ten seconds later, finished his lap with a time of 1 minute 24.535 seconds.

This result was enough to easily advance to Q2, but he still chose to run one more lap.

On the second lap, Hamilton showed his true strength, setting a time of 1 minute 24.191 seconds and knocking Wu Shi out of first place.

He finally won against Wu Shi in terms of word choice.

The results of the other drivers were then released.

Kimi以1分24秒352排在第三，维斯塔潘以1分24秒482排在第四。

"Mercedes-Benz has been moving quite fast this year, but we can't tell much from Q1 yet," Bing Ge said.

Vettel and Ricciardo both finished in the bottom ten.

That's how it is at the start of a tournament; nobody knows each other's true strengths and weaknesses, and nobody will show their full potential until Q3.

For the top teams, Q1 is merely a tentative step, while for the teams in the back row, it means struggling to be eliminated.

Giovinazzi, Magnussen, Vandoorne, Storr, and Palmer were eliminated.

The most attention was drawn to Storl, whose teammate Bottas ran a time of 1 minute and 25 seconds flat, placing him 6th.

The two were 13 places apart, and such a huge gap between them in the same team drew boos from the audience.

The young master originally invested in Williams, and such paid drivers have always been looked down upon by fans in the paddock.

“Storol is also a young man, he needs to be given some opportunities,” the soldier said, trying to be fair.

After waiting in the pit area for more than 16 minutes, Wu Shi received another order to go out and run Q2.

After the purple ultra-soft tires were installed, Wu Shi once again appeared before Hamilton.

"Why is Wu Shi always the first one to come out?" the soldier asked, puzzled.

Generally speaking, track conditions improve as you progress, putting the first team at a disadvantage.

"I just hope it will stay this way forever, and not change because of the situation on the field," Fei said.

"Is there any explanation for this?" the soldier asked in return.

“I remember back in 2015, Wu Shi got better opportunities several times because he ran ahead first,” Fei Ge said.

“I don’t think so. Those are all probabilistic events. If there’s no yellow flag or it doesn’t rain, going in later still has an advantage,” the soldier retorted.

“So, if Mercedes arranges for Wu Shi to come out first no matter what, it means they are treating him and Hamilton equally,” Fei Ge said immediately.

Both of them were actually concerned about the same thing: they were both afraid that Wu Shi would be assigned as the number two driver if he went to Mercedes.

“I think it would be fairer to stagger Wu Shi and Hamilton’s appearances,” a young voice said.

"Hey, Haoran's words make some sense," the soldier said.

"However, we'll have to see how it goes. Not every track has an advantage for those who start later," Fei Ge said, returning to his previous statement.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the commentators favoring domestic drivers.

While the group was chatting, Wu Shi had already achieved a valid time of 1 minute 23.098 seconds!

It directly pulls ahead of Q1's fastest lap by more than 1 second!

Wow! That was fast!

"Vettel's three training sessions weren't good enough, but we'll see how far he can go," the soldier said.

"Hamilton's time is also out, it's 1 minute 23.251 seconds," Zou Haoran added from the side.

As a simultaneous interpreter, he wouldn't normally need to say these things, but since he's commentating on F1, he has a bit of a passion for it and will often look at the data provided by F1.

"He's 0.15 seconds slower than Wu Shi! The young man has turned into an old man!"

The soldier sighed and then said:
"Hmm, Hamilton must be getting on in years, right?"

"32 years old, that's the prime of life! What are you talking about? Hahaha!"

"Hahaha! Look how many years he's been running around like this." The soldier laughed along without feeling embarrassed.

In fact, to be honest, Brother Tou is already 36 years old this year.

On the track, Hamilton heard his and his teammates' results during the cool-down lap.

He didn't say anything in TR, but silently drove the race car back to the pit lane.

Vettel, who came on later, also began his run in Q2.

However, Vettel, who usually completes his goal in Q2 with just one flying lap, was not satisfied after setting a time of 1 minute 23.458 seconds.

After a 5-minute rest, we took our second race.

For no other reason than Kimi's time of 1 minute 23.376 seconds.

Vettel was already questioned last year about his declining form and whether he was as good as Kimi, so falling behind Kimi in qualifying this year is not good news.

He was originally a proud person, but after learning that his performance was not as good as his teammates', he still chose to come out and race one more lap.

This would waste his set of ultra-soft tires.

This puts him in danger in Q3.

Swish!
Vettel crossed the finish line again, showing improvement, but not by much, finishing with a time of only 1 minute 23.401 seconds.

“Vatter is a bit slow,” Fei said.

Anyone can make a mistake if they only race one lap, but if they race two laps and the result is not ideal, that's enough to tell the story.

"It's hard to say, they might have encountered some racing problems, after all, it's a Ferrari, hahaha." The soldier started joking.

When the season just started last year, Ferrari seemed poised to challenge Mercedes, but instead they were crushed by Red Bull, which was quite a laugh for Ferrari.

It's no wonder that people like Arison left later on; they felt Ferrari was beyond saving and had had enough of the unpleasant internal environment.

Vettel returned to the pit lane, and the broadcast cameras captured the four-time champion with an indescribable emotion in his eyes.

Q2 stopped, and Wu Shi successfully outmaneuvered his teammates to take first place.

Vettel still failed to surpass his teammate, falling to fourth place.

Sainz closed the goal in 1 minute 24.997 seconds.

Perez, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon, and Eriksen were eliminated.

Ocon makes his first appearance in Q2, and this driver who outperformed Panzi in F3 has to start from the bench.

Last year, he replaced Leo in the car and sat in the car, giving him the same feeling as driving a GP3.

This year, India has finally secured a place among the Earth Group's relatively strong forces.

The broadcast camera shifted from Vettel to Wu Shi, who was sitting in the race car, using a telephoto lens.

At that moment, Wu Shi was in a daze, and the camera captured his lifeless eyes inside his helmet.

"Why does Wu Shi seem to have a sense of despair about life?" the soldier joked after seeing this.

"Too much pressure?"

“Competing against Hamilton will definitely be very stressful,” Ran Ge suddenly added.

That makes some sense, but not much, since that's the look drivers have when they're waiting in their cars.

"Get ready, we need to run one lap in Q3 first, but don't push too hard," Jonathan reminded.

Even though Wu Shi rarely makes mistakes or accidents on the track, he still has to remind him to prevent Wu Shi from acting recklessly.

Wu Shi rubbed his hands together and then put on the gloves that were draped over the steering wheel.

The technician outside the P room who was checking the situation waved his hand, indicating that the car could be dispatched.

hum!
Wu Shi set off.

Although Jonathan told him not to be too aggressive, he was going to run two laps on two sets of ultra-soft tires anyway, and he wouldn't let up on either of them!
Susu!

In Q3, Wu Shi, who had been keeping a low profile all winter, finally revealed his most ferocious side.

After exiting Turn 15, Wu Shi quickly shifted up gears, with the engine speed always perfectly matching the gearbox gear.

Roar!
The race car's DRS is activated, accelerating to a top speed of 330 kph on the starting straight!

Heh!

In the blink of an eye, turn 1 arrived, and the braking became extremely heavy.

The gear shifted down to 4th gear quickly, and when the speed dropped to 178 kph, the brake was released, and the car turned into the corner.

Once the front of the car was slightly aligned with the apex of the bend, the throttle was immediately applied to quickly compensate for the speed loss caused by the turn and the low gear.

Before even reaching the apex of the corner, the car's speed returned to 186 kph, and Wu Shi floored the accelerator.

click!
The apex of Turn 1 flashed by, and the car immediately drove onto the left kerb of Turn 2.

Click!

The gear shifts up, the speed immediately increases, and the Silver Arrow veers to the right after exiting the corner, pressing against the curb again.

After a series of groans, the speed had reached 280 kph.

Dudley was already deeply shocked by what he saw.

The car can enter the corner immediately after the brake is released, which means that Wu Shi has extremely precise control of the car, stopping it at the optimal speed at the corner entry point.

That requires incredibly precise braking and speed control!

His shock did not disappear immediately, because Wu Shi was too fast; a short minute passed in a flash.

The first time slot is the fastest!
The second time slot is the fastest!
Swish!
The race car crossed the checkered lines with a time of 1 minute 22.354 seconds!

Wu Shi's crew members applauded immediately upon seeing this, as it was one second faster than the fastest lap in Q2!
However, the applause quickly subsided because Hamilton crossed the finish line in 1 minute 22.496 seconds.

The situation remains sensitive within the team, and the veteran employees are unwilling to take sides, so they immediately stopped applauding.

Some of the more astute technicians had already started eyeing Toto.

I happened to see Toto pointing at the screen and talking to Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche.

Mercedes' manager also attended the opening race of the 2017 Formula 1 Grand Prix.

"Good."

Jonathan didn't say much after seeing the two drivers' results.

Dudley also pouted and shook his head incredulously.

0.14 seconds!
This overwhelming victory has moved many people, even though everyone knows there will be a second Flying Lap.

"That's too fast! It's absolutely too fast! Hamilton's lap times have never been slow!"

The soldier clapped his hands and shouted.

"Wu Shi set the fastest lap of the entire match! Is his first race at Mercedes going to be this amazing?!" David exclaimed loudly as he began his commentary.

After learning the situation from Bono, Hamilton remained expressionless, but a deep-seated anxiety welled up within him.

But soon, he began to compose himself.

From go-karting to now, how many situations has he encountered?
There was still plenty of time before the next lap, enough for him to completely calm down.

Soon, the window for the final flying lap arrived, and Hamilton once again took the track after Wu Shi.

"The final qualifying session turned into a battle between the two Mercedes drivers," David said.

This statement was made from 2014 to 2017, and Mercedes' unbeatable lap times on most tracks had made too many people lose their passion for qualifying.

If there's anything to watch right now, it's whether a young player with a first-time title is more impressive, or an experienced player with a second title.

In fact, most people already have the answer in their hearts.

Swish!
Hamilton completed a near-perfect lap, clocking a time of 1 minute 22.177 seconds!

But it was no use, and Wu Shi crossed the finish line again, improving his time to 1 minute 22.101 seconds.

The dust has settled.

clap clap clap!
Toto led the applause, smiling as he spoke to Dieter Zetsche and Lauda.

Vettel's time was subsequently replicated, 1 minute 22.456 seconds, ranking third overall.

0.355 seconds behind pole position.

而再往后的Kimi，已经没有跑进1分22秒了，停留在1分23秒033。

Red Bull was slower, and Verstappen ran 1 minute 23.485 seconds, behind Kimi.

Ricciardo, unfortunately, suffered a gearbox failure and failed to achieve a single effective result.

Griezmann continued to carry the Haas team, finishing in 6th place with a time of 1 minute 24.074 seconds.

Bottas also carried Williams, finishing seventh with a time of 1 minute 24.123 seconds.

Sainz beat Kvyat to rank 8th.

After Wu Shi finished weighing himself, he took off his helmet, and the reporters couldn't wait for him to enter the interview area.

"Wu Shi, congratulations on securing your first pole position at the Mercedes. How do you feel right now?"

"To be honest, it's great." Wu Shi smiled and ruffled his wet hair.

"You'll be starting first in tomorrow's race. Do you think you're fully prepared to face your teammates' attacks and the looming threat of Ferrari's two world champions?" the reporter continued.

"Of course, I've already been through these things, haven't I?"

"Great! You seem very confident!" The reporters concluded the interview.

On the other side, Hamilton walked over and gave Wu Shi a high five.

Snapped!
The two clapped their hands, hugged each other, exchanged a few words, and then parted ways.

"Lewis, you only finished second in today's qualifying session. What happened?"

"Do not."

Hamilton shook his head and said:

"It's just that I'm slower."

He spoke the truth, but his answer left the reporters in disbelief.

However, the next question soon followed:

What are your thoughts on tomorrow's match?

“I started in second place, which is a good position, but I would think it would be even better to finish in first place.”

"Oh!"

This is exactly what the reporters wanted: the two Mercedes drivers will continue to compete!

The press officer didn't say much about the two's statements, at least for now, their relationship still seems to be on good terms, doesn't it?
It would be pointless to make them appear amicable in front of the media only to have the conflict erupt again later.

(End of this chapter)