F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 297 What does this have to do with me?

The tense atmosphere subsided slightly when the team's conversation returned to the issue of car performance.

The internal conflict that erupted at the opening race was mainly due to the car's insufficient performance, which put it at a disadvantage against other teams.

If Wu Shi and Hamilton could maintain a comfortable lead over Vettel, Mercedes wouldn't need to change their strategy, and the subsequent events wouldn't have occurred.

The performance issues currently facing Mercedes have been raised by engineers with Wu Shi and Hamilton.

Racing cars currently face quite complex performance deviations due to issues such as wheelbase and suspension architecture.

While the long wheelbase enhances the W08's straight-line speed and high-speed cornering stability, it also makes the car feel slightly cumbersome in slow corners.

Perhaps this is one reason why Hamilton always seems to lack turning ability.

The suspension architecture leads to abnormal tire wear, making it difficult to control the temperature of the vehicle's tires.

This isn't a problem that just started this year. In the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes suffered a crushing defeat to Ferrari because the tires couldn't operate within the appropriate temperature range due to this issue, which allowed Williams to catch up.

After exporting all performance issues and making preliminary predictions for each track, everyone was surprised to find that Mercedes and Ferrari seemed to be evenly matched.

A close contest implies uncertainty, and Mercedes will not be as competitive this year as it was in 2014-2016.

After the meeting ended, Toto sat in his seat, feeling a bit of a headache.

"Perhaps the only good news right now is that Wu Shi's condition is always so stable, which is reassuring."

Lauda smiled when she saw Toto's expression.

"Of course, I'm very glad we made the decision to sign Wu Shi. If Wu Shi had actually gone to Ferrari, I always felt that our chances of winning the championship this year would have been further reduced."

To be honest, he repeatedly studied whether the most important factor in Wu Shi's victory in 2015 was the greater stability of the Williams car.

No, it's not that the race car is more stable, but that Wu Shi himself is more stable.

His only mistake that year was on the last flying lap of qualifying in Monaco, but even that was not a fatal one.

In contrast, Hamilton and Rosberg were less consistent in 2015.

Having worked with Hamilton for many years, he also came to understand the Englishman's temperament—

He doesn't seem to be as passionate about racing as one might imagine; he seems to enjoy fashion events and attending entertainment programs more than racing.

Clearly, Hamilton also shares the stereotypes about Black people and is more interested in entertainment.

Wu Shi is different; so far, there is no indication that he has any hobbies other than driving.

Throughout the winter, Toto only learned from Chinese media that the young man, who had just turned 18 last year, had gotten his driver's license.

Then he disappeared from the public eye, and when he reappeared, he was playing iR with Verstappen.

Perhaps it is because these two exceptionally talented drivers are still young and their passion is still focused on racing.

Toto looked at Lauda and said, "You know, I had that thought during the main race because I didn't want to give up the victory in the first race."

Lauda nodded. At the time, the data for both Mercedes cars didn't look very good, so Toto wanted Hamilton to hold off Vettel and create an opportunity for Wu Shi.

However, Toto only hinted at the meaning to him in the end, without issuing any team orders.

This is the difficulty of not having designated a number 1 and number 2 driver; everything is geared towards fair competition.

But even if they wanted to determine the number 1 and number 2 drivers, would they be able to do so?

Of the three major teams, only Ferrari has a relatively clear number 1 and number 2 driver, while Mercedes and Red Bull do not.

Mercedes' situation is self-evident, while Red Bull's situation is that Ricciardo's current performance is quite good, and Verstappen is still very young, so on the surface, they are maintaining fairness.

"We can't think too much about it, and we can't do that either, otherwise the team will be thrown into chaos. Let them compete among themselves. That's the only way. After all, we have two of the best drivers."

Lauda said meaningfully.

Toto was a shrewd man; he immediately understood the implied meaning.

There can only be one best driver, how can there be two?

He recalled that back in 2014, Lauda had shown immense confidence in Wu Shi, even wanting the then 16-year-old Wu Shi to join the Mercedes racing team.

Keep in mind that Mercedes had Hamilton and Rosberg at the time, and Lauda wanted Wu Shi to start.

Isn't that obviously telling Toto to find a way to squeeze out the old man or the princess?

"Will Wu Shi be able to suppress Lewis?" Toto couldn't help but ask.

“You’re a race car driver too, you should know what rare qualities Wu Shi displayed while driving,” Lauda chuckled.

Toto was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Trust him."

Wu Shi walked out of the conference room and chatted with Hamilton for a few words on the way. The content of their conversation was often outside the racetrack.

After Hamilton left, Wu Shi, Jonathan, Dudley, and the others walked towards the factory at the back.

“You were right to ask for reduced steering sensitivity before the race,” Dudley suddenly said.

"Oh, thank you. You approved of my idea back then, and you even helped me calculate the specific data."

Wu Shi laughed and said that there was no need to take credit for it; it was all done by the team.

In fact, it may be precisely because of these minor adjustments that his tires do not overheat as easily as Hamilton's.

Although this is also related to his driving style.

“Haha, yes, you should communicate with us more often if you have any ideas. It’ll be your time to shine in two weeks,” Dudley said.

"Yes, before we knew it, this was the third time we'd been playing on home turf," Wu Shi said with some emotion.

“You will win the highest honor at home,” Dudley said.

"Thank you, it's truly an honor to have your help," Wu Shi said sincerely.

Jonathan watched from the side without saying anything.

Soon after, the second meeting following the Grand Prix was held.

The meeting is being chaired by Technical Director Alisen, and everyone will be discussing specific issues.

As drivers, Wu Shi and Hamilton verified the new improved data using simulators.

However, the old man was quite traditional. He strongly disagreed with the simulator's data, believing that it could not provide any real or effective feedback.

Wu Shi certainly agrees with this view, but he realized during his time with Verstappen that whether the simulator can achieve the desired level also depends on the driver's own feedback.

This requires a high level of engineering skills from the driver; otherwise, it would be impossible to clearly explain the differences between the simulator and reality.

To obtain better data, Wu Shi would use the simulator whenever he had time and communicated with Allison frequently.

Because Mercedes' foundation is far superior to Williams', Wu Shi does not believe that Mercedes will be slower than Ferrari this year.

Ultimately, it's still a Martian car in the paddock, except that Ferrari has also surpassed the level of Earth cars this year, making Mercedes seem less competitive.

In the midst of his busy work, Wu Shi received another call from Verstappen.

"Hey? Trying to get data again?" Wu Shi joked, noting that Red Bull had fallen behind Mercedes and Ferrari this year.

No, alas.

Verstappen sighed; this was indeed a rare occurrence.

"What happened? What's making you so upset?"

“My father always seemed to want to interfere with the team,” Verstappen said.

“This is not a bad thing,” Wu Shi said.

"..." Vestager's mind didn't quite process it for a moment.

"Your father wants you to be Red Bull's number one driver, right?"

Wu Shi's subtext is that José should be trying to find ways to attack Ricciardo, or communicating with Marco and Horner to fight for a better position for Verstappen in the car.

“Yeah, Daniel and I are good friends, and I like him quite a bit.”

Verstappen naturally knew what Wu Shi was referring to.

“It’s nothing, just do what you’re supposed to do, just like you told me,” Wu Shi comforted him.

The biggest problem young people face in the paddock is never driving, but the psychological torment.

Weichang is like a closed little company; the slightest thing that happens will spread like wildfire.

Old Verstappen wasn't exactly known for his sharp tongue either; if he hadn't had much influence before, that would have been one thing.

But now that Verstappen is the absolute core of Red Bull's future, it has made the veteran Verstappen more aware. "I'm just very frustrated, and sometimes I envy you."

Verstappen rarely says these things; his goals have been clear since childhood, and he doesn't have many thoughts besides driving.

But that doesn’t mean he never considered these things; he just considered them but didn’t say them aloud.

Wu Shi's situation was indeed something many riders in the paddock envied. His father provided him with complete financial support but never considered getting involved in the affairs of the paddock.

This means that Wu Shi held sufficient initiative.

Verstappen's situation is somewhat similar to Hamilton's.

After Hamilton's father fully supported Hamilton's upbringing, he also wanted to use this relationship to exert influence in the paddock and participate in the competition for profits in various aspects of the paddock.

In the end, Hamilton decisively cut off all of that and, with the help of the team and his management company, went independent.

Verstappen faces an even more difficult situation. His father, also an F1 driver, already has a network of connections in the paddock, which Hamilton's father cannot match.

This makes it difficult for Marco and Horner to handle Verstappen in the same way Ron Dennis (former McLaren team principal who resigned after the Spygate scandal) handled Hamilton's father.

After all, even Verstappen's current agent, Raymond Vermeeren, was previously Verstappen's agent.

“Everyone has their own unique strengths and different troubles. If you want to drive, then go drive. If you want to talk about something, then come to me, just like I always used to talk to you,” Wu Shi said.

"Haha, shall we start driving? You should run a few laps with me." Verstappen's mood immediately changed after he figured it out.

“If you have time, then come!” Wu Shi said.

Now his dorm room is equipped with a simulator for entertainment, and he can relax by running tracks with Verstappen.

Two weeks passed very quickly, during which Toto accepted an invitation to a press conference.

There was too much gossip in the paddock regarding the relationship between Wu Shi and Hamilton, and he had to step forward to clarify things.

"Lewis and Wu Shi are both very good. They are both excellent drivers, and they have a very good relationship. I think this relationship will continue."

But there were even more tricky questions in the paddock. Someone asked, "If Wu Shi wins against Hamilton in succession, will it cause Hamilton to leave Mercedes?"

This question was indeed difficult for Toto to answer, so he could only evade it and made a public statement.

"It's only been one Grand Prix and it's already generated so much speculation. To be honest, I haven't considered that many things."

“These considerations are low on my priorities. The problem we are facing now is how to ensure that we do not lose our position in the competition with Ferrari.”

This finally calmed the public opinion in the paddock a little, but privately the fans were still arguing fiercely.

Hamilton's early pit stop has been hyped as a conspiracy by Mercedes to ensure Wu Shi wins the championship.

This is exactly the same conspiracy theory that targeted Rosberg last year, which naturally aroused dissatisfaction among Wu Shi's fans.

As a result, both sides quickly started stirring up trouble online.

British media outlets also directly supported Hamilton, arguing that the Australian Grand Prix strategy was indeed illogical because Hamilton was at a disadvantage.

The disputes between car enthusiasts are originally insignificant, but if they are, the media will try to stir up trouble.

Wu Shi is now immune to this kind of thing. Just like he told Verstappen, he should focus on driving and not think about anything else. If he doesn't read the comments, he won't be affected by them.

On April 6, 2017, the press conference for the China Grand Prix was held in Shanghai.

As the home driver, Wu Shi was undoubtedly selected as the special guest driver.

After briefly congratulating the domestic fans in Chinese, the reporters at the press conference began to stir things up.

British media asked:

“We’ve seen some people say that the team’s decisions made you the winner at the Australian Grand Prix. What’s your take on that?”

When Wu Shi got the microphone, he knew that this was how the British media were—severely discriminatory based on nationality. He wasn't prepared to say much more.

What do they think have to do with me?

The reporter was somewhat surprised by Wu Shi's refusal, and then used the traditional staring technique.

I won't ask the next question until you answer it.

"I don't like to answer any rumors because rumor-mongers always like to take things out of context. The more you say, the more they like to misinterpret your meaning, that's all."

"Uh, okay." The reporter didn't know how to respond, nor did he want to continue to embarrass a world champion.

So the question was quickly glossed over.

"You've driven your most competitive race car to the home track this time. Are you ready to win the championship?"

Another reporter asked questions from a different angle.

This is a serious question, but you can't just answer it the way you think you should.

"I need to correct your wording. You should use 'one of the best' to describe it. As you can see, Ferrari is extremely competitive this year, and they are far stronger than us in some areas."

Wu Shi said that Ferrari's tire wear has always been a mystery, probably because of Kimi Rummenigge's presence on the team.

"As for the preparations for winning the championship, I think I actually started preparing in 2015. Doesn't every driver want to win the championship on home track? I'm not the exception."

After he finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Wu Shi was still normal as usual.

Vettel later expressed caution at the press conference, believing that Mercedes was still ahead of Ferrari and that Ferrari was still far from winning the championship.

In short, there wasn't much truly useful information at the press conference; it was mainly a place to showcase everyone's attitude.

We'll have to wait until practice sessions to get a glimpse of the vehicle's specific performance.

After the evening news broadcast on Thursday night, the weather forecast for Shanghai for tomorrow was announced.

rain.

As a result, the entire Friday practice session was practically wasted, and the teams had virtually no time to conduct much testing.

Wehrlein is still unable to participate in the competition due to a back injury, and Giovanni will continue to compete in his place.

Toto blurted out that Wehrlein had a broken spine, but Sober's team leader, Monissa Kaltenborn, immediately denied it.

By Saturday, the weather had finally improved, and the track had dried overnight.

In the morning practice session, Vettel and Kimi took the lead, finishing with a time of 1 minute 33.3 seconds, 0.3 seconds ahead of Wu Shi in third place.

This scene was indeed nerve-wracking; last year, the pole position time here was 1 minute 35.402 seconds.

The race cars here are much faster this year!
Some people were unsure of Mercedes' speed and had concerns.

This concern persisted into Q3, even after the afternoon qualifying rounds began.

In Q1, Vettel still holds the top spot with a time of 1 minute 33.078 seconds, having completed only one flying lap.

Hamilton and Wu Shi both finished behind, about 0.3 seconds slower.

During the final sprint of Q1, Giovinazzi crashed headfirst into the guardrail on the right side of Turn 16.

This ruined the Q1 for several drivers.

However, this spot on the Shanghai International Circuit is indeed prone to loss of control and crashing into the wall, and many drivers have made mistakes here.

Clearly, Giovanni made the mistake that all newcomers tend to make.

Using someone else to get your work published is a risky business.

In Q2, Kimi once again emerged as a dark horse, taking first place with a time of 1 minute 32.181 seconds.

Vettel is 0.210 seconds behind in second place.

Although both Mercedes drivers clocked a time of 1 minute and 32 seconds, they were still some distance behind Ferrari.

The soldier was already starting to worry: "Could Mercedes really be in trouble? Wu Shi and Hamilton are both in the back."

"You're too pessimistic."

Fei shook his head and said, "Vatter and Kimi both flew an extra lap."

"What does that prove? You can't say that the two of them weren't confident, can you? But Vettel's fastest lap was achieved in the very first round," the soldier said.

"Hey, I've noticed that Ferraris seem to like doing an extra lap this year? Is it because wearing down the tires a bit more makes for a better start?"

Fei Ge's focus has shifted.

Even the soldier looked over:
"That's right, why did Vettel fly a second lap?"

No one has answered this question. With the Q2 timetable being suspended, the decisive Q3 is approaching.

(End of this chapter)