F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 305 New Generation

Vettel's road rage has undoubtedly damaged the image of the entire F1 racing series.

As the four-time world champion with the most honors in the paddock, he is, to some extent, F1's calling card to the world.

Moreover, Vettel was invited by the FIA ​​to participate in road safety campaigns, but can his actions truly justify all of this?

In the post-match interview, Vettel still didn't think he was throwing a tantrum; he went up to Hamilton simply to ask who caused the sudden braking.

He told reporters that if he was to be punished, Hamilton should also be punished.

Some people analyzed Vettel's outburst afterward, believing it was because Ferrari had a very good chance of winning the WDC this year, so he had to do everything he could to get it.

Some believe that Vettel's PTSD was triggered by an event that occurred in 2007.

That year, Vettel joined Toro Rosso and entered the paddock for the first time.

As a result, Hamilton conducted brake tests in the rain during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Webber, who was in second place at Red Bull, braked suddenly, and Vettel crashed into him unexpectedly.

The collision caused both of them to lose their podiums.

The race organizers later determined that Hamilton had deliberately braked.

You should know that when Vettel returned to the pit room, he was severely scolded by Webber, and the young Vettel burst into tears.

It's estimated that he had a preconceived notion about Hamilton from that time onwards, believing that the old man just liked to prank people with brake tests.

Nicky Lauda criticized Vettel's behavior today, saying he seemed completely clueless about what he was doing.

However, Marco continued to support Vettel, believing that he had done nothing wrong and that Vettel was truly Marco's "own son," a position that Panzi didn't even have.

Hamilton, who was on the side of criticism, felt somewhat aggrieved, as he had not deliberately braked or even slowed down.

This scandal, which can be described as an F1 scandal, will not end so easily, and the FIA ​​will continue to investigate the situation thoroughly.

In addition to the penalties imposed on him on the field, Vettel will also have three points deducted from his super license and be disqualified from participating in road safety campaigns.

Jean Todt went further, saying that if Vettel continued to behave this way, he should leave F1 and the paddock.

Because the matter was so serious, the FIA's investigation was swift.

According to various telemetry data, Hamilton did not brake at the exit of Turn 16; he simply reduced his speed during the normal cornering maneuver.

On the contrary, Vettel himself accelerated slightly.

Clearly, this matter can now be considered closed.

Vettel was asked to apologize.

Therefore, on July 4th, Vettel issued an apology statement on his personal website:

"In hindsight, I don't think Hamilton meant any harm. I overreacted in the heat of the moment, so I want to apologize directly to him and everyone who watched the game."

The FIA ​​has thus concluded the matter.

Not everyone is satisfied with this outcome; what's the point of just an apology statement?

But Vettel is a quadruple champion! A more severe punishment cannot be imposed now.

The main reason is that Wu Shi has been leading all the way this year, and now has a total of 166 points, leading second-place Vettel by 33 points and leading his teammates by as many as 47 points.

If Vettel removes his jersey, it seems that no one can threaten him except for forcing Wu Shi to withdraw from a few more matches.

Neither the Silver Arrows nor the Prancing Horse fared well in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Mercedes leads Ferrari in total points.

But that's not enough; the struggle must not stop for a moment.

Shortly after the Baku race, Mercedes reported Ferrari's technical violations to the FIA.

They suspect that the Ferrari team used a special engine oil that would enter the engine compartment during qualifying and participate in combustion to improve engine performance.

The timing of this suspicion was very clever.

In early June, FIA Technical Director Massin Budkovsky released an explanation of the technical regulations.

It mentions that engine oil cannot be used as fuel.

As is well known, there are flow restrictions on gasoline in F1, with only 100 kilograms allowed per hour, or 27.7 grams per second.

If an extra 5.5 grams of fuel per second could be added from elsewhere, the engine's thermal power could increase by 20%.

Although it's a rough estimate, it still demonstrates the significant improvement that Ferrari's approach brings.

You might not be able to carry much engine oil, but this behavior doesn't need to continue throughout the entire race. Just a little effort in qualifying is enough to influence the outcome of the race.

Ultimately, Ferrari had to promise to abandon the design.

During the Ben Falcon saga, Red Bull's Horner also had to say a few words.

He said in a low voice:
“There’s an engineer working at Mercedes now, he came from Ferrari, and he knows exactly where to look for technical problems.”

This is clearly saying that Arison took revenge on his former team.

However, this has always been the case between Horner and Toto. Horner certainly doesn't want to see Toto suffer, so it's normal for him to stir up trouble.

Toto did not respond to Horner.

Ferrari, on the other hand, took its own action.

This year is Ferrari's best chance to win the WDC in the past five years, and it's also the year that the Vettel-Ferrari partnership has yielded the most successful results.

Therefore, Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne has extremely high requirements for his employees.

With the doubts surrounding Mercedes being resolved, Lorenzo Sassi, head of Ferrari's engine division, was promptly dismissed.

As Binotto's assistant, Sassi actually did a pretty good job.

Ferrari claimed that the problem stemmed from instability in the powertrain developed under Sassi's leadership, which caused Vettel to experience frequent breakdowns during practice sessions.

However, most people believe that this is due to an engine oil problem in the Baku rear engine.

However, Ferrari, as the team with the deepest F1 heritage, still announced a major upgrade to introduce a V6 engine at Silverstone, even after dismissing the head of engine development.

This announcement is a bit misleading. No, you fired the person in charge of the engine, and then you're telling me that you can upgrade the engine right away?
Just as the conflict between Mercedes and Ferrari had subsided, another major team, McLaren, which was also experiencing a downturn, also ran into trouble.

Ron Dennis is stepping down as chairman of the McLaren Group, having left McLaren after 37 years of service.

Dennis will sell his 25% stake for a total of £2.75 million.

Amidst the clamor of discussion, the race still reached the ninth stage of the season: the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Hamilton once again exhibited severe track maladjustment symptoms and was unable to find his rhythm.

He finished only 3rd in qualifying, and with the gearbox change, he was penalized five places, starting 8th on the grid.

Wu Shi's starting position in the front row was no surprise, especially since the Red Bull Ring is a track he excels at.

Even as Vettel's speed increased in the latter half of the race, it did not affect Wu Shi, who was in the lead. Vettel was blocked in several overtaking attempts after his engine had burned out.

Then, the distance was increased.

Wu Shi crossed the finish line amidst cheers from a group of Pan Zi fans dressed in orange and ready to smoke orange cigarettes, accepting the enthusiasm on Pan Zi's behalf.

Toto slammed his fist on the table with glee. The unfortunate table was used to it; after all, the Mercedes team leader would slam the table whether he was angry or happy.

As for why Toto is so happy?
Of course, it's because Wu Shi won the championship again after three stops, and he was afraid that the kid's mentality would be affected by the previous setback.

However, he was clearly overthinking it. Wu Shi had a significant lead and didn't feel any excessive pressure.

The top five positions in the race were swept by the three major Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari teams:
Vettel was second, Ricciardo third, Hamilton fourth, and Kimi fifth. As for why Verstappen, another driver in the Mercedes-Benz Grenadiers, wasn't in the top six, it's naturally because Kvyat torpedoed Alonso, and Alonso spun out and knocked Verstappen out.

In a post-race interview, Vettel said that today's race was a pity because the first Stint's supersoft tires overheated, allowing Wu Shi to pull away too far.

As the sky darkened and the temperature dropped, it became very difficult for him to catch up, and he eventually lost the race.

Following the Austrian Grand Prix, the driver market saw further turnover.

Kubica, now fully recovered from his injuries, is helping Renault test old race cars, driving a 2012 Lotus.

Although Renault has not yet confirmed that Kubica will be a starting driver in 2018, it is widely believed that this testing is aimed at getting Kubica back on the track.

Meanwhile, Renault is also trying to woo Alonso, hoping to bring the world champion to their fold.

However, Alonso declined to comment on these rumors, stating that he would focus on his work at McLaren.

Rumors are also circulating about Red Bull.

Sainz himself has many ideas, and seeing that Pan Zi is doing very well at Red Bull, he said he would not stay at Toro Rosso for 4 years as per his contract.

Even though Marco gave him a lecture, the second-generation driver didn't care about any of it.
Immediately, people in the paddock said that Sainz was in talks with Ferrari and Renault and might replace Renault's Palmer.

However, this was naturally denied by Renault.

Rumors then circulated that after Sainz left, Frenchman Pierre Gasly would replace him at Toro Rosso.

Meanwhile, Vettel's contract has also been revealed, with Ferrari offering him a three-year extension worth 40 million euros per year.

Kimi, meanwhile, has been criticized by Marchionne for his poor performance this year, revealing the new Ferrari boss's demanding nature.

But this is also the cruel reality of the paddock.

Ferrari lowered its offer for Kimi in 2018 to just 500 million yuan.

Kimi didn't have much of an opinion on this and said she could accept it.

Ferrari also revealed that they are considering Wu Shi, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Perez, and Grosjean.

In short, every transfer season brings a flurry of rumors.

However, some true news stories are also mixed in with the rumors.

For example, Frederick Vassell will succeed Monissa Karltenborn as the head of the Sauber team.

However, after taking over the team leader's duties, Vassell expressed his distrust of Honda's engines.

It seems likely that Sauber will have to continue using Ferrari engines.

When F1 arrives at Silverstone, the latest version of the Halo system, which has been under development since 2014, will be installed by Ferrari and tested by Vettel.

This Halo system was not the flip-flop that we know today, but rather a "shield" with a glass cover.

In conclusion, Vettel believes that the forward field of vision appears to be affected by the curvature of the glass, which he believes has impacted the game.

This plan is highly likely to be phased out.

Mercedes' side saw Hamilton change his gearbox at the previous race, and Wu Shi will do the same at this race, both of whom will be penalized with a 5-place penalty.

Fair competition is roughly what this means; it's easy for this to happen in big racing teams if they don't have a designated number 1 and number 2 driver.

Wu Shi didn't complain, because it was a normal gearbox upgrade and replacement.

So despite securing pole position, they were still forced to start sixth.

Back on the track where you could drive with your eyes closed, Hamilton's lead was incredibly smooth.

On the contrary, Vettel was outmaneuvered by Verstappen at the start, and then locked up his tires when he tried to overtake Verstappen in the second stint.

Although he still surpassed Verstappen, the massive lock-up made the people in the Ferrari pit lane look rather grim.

Some people even had the thought that things would have been different if it were Wu Shi.

In fact, Wu Shi was also showcasing his overtaking skills on the track.

He quickly rose to fifth place, trailing Vettel for a long time.

In the chaotic battle after the tire change, Wu Shi quickly gained the upper hand, passing Verstappen and Vettel to reach third place.

Kimi didn't hold off Wu Shi for long either.

Seeing how easily Wu Shi made up for his disadvantageous starting position, everyone had to admit his strength.

However, he was ultimately blocked for quite some time; the tires and time were no longer enough for Wu Shi to catch up with Hamilton.

As the race was about to end, Vettel suffered a tire blowout—the front left tire that had locked up when he overtook Verstappen.

He had to pit for a tire change and ultimately finished seventh, a truly regrettable situation.

I thought Wu Shi's penalty kick would allow Vettel to catch up, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this.

Wu Shi continues to lead the standings with a margin of more than 50 points.

Vettel's loss even allowed Hamilton to catch up, leading the veteran by 1 point with 157 points, a tiny gap that was almost suffocating.

I thought they came to compete for first place, but they ended up just holding onto second place.

And so, the last race before the summer break, the Hungarian Grand Prix, arrived.

On this hot and demanding track that emphasizes downforce, the Mercedes-Benz car once again showed signs of being out of sorts.

Hamilton couldn't find his pace all weekend and finished fourth in qualifying with a time of 1 minute 16.707 seconds.

Wu Shi was slightly better, but it was still a great pity that he ranked second with a time of 1 minute 16.299 seconds.

Trailing Vettel by 0.023 seconds.

However, this speed is already terrifying, a full 4 seconds faster than last year's pole position!
This also shows that, with a deeper understanding of aerodynamic rules, Ferrari has already surpassed Mercedes in speed on some tracks.

In the main race, the characteristics of the Hungaroring circuit left Wu Shi with no room to perform, as the person in front of him was Vettel, driving a car with superior performance.

The ranking in the qualifying rounds almost guarantees a place in the main race.

Ultimately, Vettel secured his second victory of the season.

Ferrari was greatly encouraged by their victory before the summer break, especially after dominating Wu Shi in both qualifying and the race.

The enemy's celebrations and jubilation inspired Mercedes to work harder.

Although Wu Shi's lead is still huge, the development of the car will continue throughout the season. If the car's performance cannot keep up with the pace, those few dozen points can be easily caught up.

As for the summer break, it's really the drivers who are taking a proper rest.

Before the official start of the summer break, F1 will hold private tests in Budapest on August 1-2.

This test is for rookies, so you'll see quite a few young drivers who may enter the paddock next year.

Many familiar faces arrived.

Mercedes has Russell, Red Bull has Gasly, and Ferrari has Leclerc.

McLaren also put Norris on the court for testing.

In addition, renowned directors such as Ma Zeping and Latifi also made appearances.

Shinji Matsushita, Maria, Guerra, Ferrucci, and Giotto also participated in the test.

Wu Shi discovered that F1 is moving towards the future he is familiar with, with more and more drivers who have crossed paths with him before entering the paddock.

The power of the new generation is rising. Wait, no, he seems to be the representative of the new generation.

(End of this chapter)