F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 312 Victory begins
The 2017 season has ended, and Mercedes has won four Drivers' Championships and five Constructors' Championships since the hybrid era began.

It remains to be seen how long Mercedes' reign will last.

However, since Liberty Media took over F1, discussions about the uninteresting nature of the races seem to have decreased.

After receiving numerous honors, Wu Shi also received substantial profits and rewards, totaling 30 million euros. However, after paying taxes, the amount was less.

Meanwhile, negotiations with Mercedes regarding his 2018 salary were also going very smoothly, as the leaked information about Marchionne had indeed made Toto somewhat worried.

His annual salary starts at 30 million pounds, and if various bonuses are included, it is estimated to reach 50 million pounds.

Wu Shi's salary increased, while Hamilton's salary naturally stagnated or even decreased.

However, these are all confidential matters, and the estimated amounts from the outside world are mostly based on rumors.

Even Wu Shi, an insider, didn't know the exact amount Hamilton received, just as Hamilton didn't know the exact amount Wu Shi received.

But Hamilton was undoubtedly able to sense Mercedes' change in attitude from the changes in pay.

The competition on the track has affected the distribution of benefits off the track, and the relationship between the two is no longer as harmonious as before.

Toto wasn't too worried about the situation within the team.

Wu Shi scored 427 points in 2017, a result that proves he is more than capable of leading the future.

Moreover, this score was achieved entirely through individual ability, without the assistance of teammates.

This shows that even if a teammate is replaced, it will not affect Wu Shi's performance in the slightest.

Hamilton finished second in the season with 315 points, more than 100 points behind Wu Shi, a gap that is already quite significant.

Of course, this is partly due to his nonchalant attitude towards the last few stops.

The two players combined for 742 points, a huge number that, while benefiting from the increased number of matches, is still a significant chapter in Mercedes' glorious history.

At Mercedes' shareholders' meeting, when this impressive set of data was presented, Toto was beaming with pride.

Big boss Dieter Zetsche has reaffirmed his decision to hand over the Mercedes team to Toto in management.

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, Marchionne was busy reorganizing the company, but his energy was diverted by FIA negotiations on various agreements, including technical and allocation agreements, for F1 in 2021.

Liberty Media wants to establish a fairer distribution system in Formula 1, which means cutting back on royalties from historic teams.

Ferrari would never agree to this. For them, this bonus is even more than the total bonus of other teams. How could they possibly agree to be cut?

Marchionne could simply respond to such comments by threatening Ferrari to withdraw from F1.

Jean Todt had to back down, but F1 Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Bratschs was unwilling to.

At a time of change, drivers don't readily express their opinions.

After completing the annual awards ceremony, Wu Shi will soon be entering his winter vacation.

Compared to last year's winter holiday, he has a lot more free time this year. Although he still has to travel around, it's all for small-scale negotiations.

After returning to China and visiting high-ranking leaders such as Shufu, he settled down again on the Mediterranean coast.

Although he had a lot of money, he still didn't plan to buy a house and instead stayed at Martina's house.

Louise is actively preparing for next year's college entrance exams. She has two goals: Politecnico di Milano and Bocconi University.

Both are prestigious universities, requiring not only high school graduation exams but also independent entrance exams for some majors, making admission quite difficult.

Wu Shi didn't understand any of this, so he could only watch from the sidelines, trying his best not to disturb Louise so as not to involve her too much in her life.

Once she finishes her study plan, we'll drive around together.

After obtaining his domestic driver's license, he got an international driver's license, bought a car, and drove it happily.

When he goes out normally, he really doesn't like sports cars. They're not comfortable to drive, and getting in and out of them is a real struggle.

Moreover, he doesn't have the habit of speeding on the road, because he needs to concentrate highly when driving at high speeds, which is too tiring.

After enjoying some peaceful time, the F1 winter testing season has begun.

In 2018, aerodynamic requirements changed again, and T-wing and shark fins could no longer be used on racing cars.

Furthermore, Halo was also required to be officially installed, so the 18 car is quite different from last year's.

Both the T-wing and the shark fin are designed to better direct airflow towards the tail fin, thereby increasing downforce.

However, these designs were created under loopholes in the rules. At the beginning of the 2017 season, Mercedes was even criticized by the FIA ​​for the T-wing being not sturdy enough and dangerous.

Mercedes reinforced the car afterward, and the FIA ​​remained silent.

This year's technical regulations have strictly limited where cars can have aerodynamic components installed, resulting in the complete elimination of the T-wing; however, the shark fin remains after a section has been cut off.

Compared to the ever-changing rules of aerodynamics, this change is not a big deal.

The real big event was the release of Halo.

This component is designed to prevent attacks on the open cockpit and has been repeatedly mentioned since the major Bianchi accident in 2014.

According to the requirements, the most central point of this flip-flop-like device must be able to withstand a weight of 11.8 tons, which is quite impressive in terms of structural strength.

However, due to the addition of an extra component, the vehicle's weight has increased significantly, and the aerodynamics also need to be redesigned, so the speed is expected to be about 0.2 to 0.3 seconds slower.

Sitting in the brand-new W09, complete with flip-flops, Wu Shi felt a sense of familiarity unlike the other drivers.

If we're talking about who's the most suitable person to design these flip-flops right now, then it has to be him!
"How's the view?" Jonathan asked.

“It doesn’t affect me, I’m used to it,” Wu Shi said.

“Okay, let’s start the test then.” Jonathan nodded.

The eight-day test is the only opportunity for teams to test whether their car design is suitable before the start of the race.

In addition to the main body, the race car is also equipped with many mesh panels, which are devices installed to collect airflow data.

Sometimes, engineers will also apply special coatings to race cars.

As the race car races lap after lap, the paint is carried by the wind and applied to the surface of the car, which engineers use as a reference to analyze airflow conditions.

The test, compressed into eight days, was extremely urgent for everyone.

Wu Shi was making the most of his time to get used to the whole vehicle, as the new parts made it impossible for him to use them as easily as before.

However, having driven F1 for several years, his perception and adaptation speed to racing cars has obviously improved, since many parts are the same.

In the end, he tested a total of 532 laps, basically figuring out all the data.

A debriefing meeting was held immediately after the winter testing concluded.

As the technical director, Alisen gave a basic overview of the vehicle's condition, after which the performance department analyzed the current gaps.

"Our top speed was set by Wu Shi, but it's exactly the same as Ferrari's. In other words, I think Ferrari has caught up with our advantage on the straights."

"There's also tire management. Wu Shi's situation is better than Lewis's, but it's still not optimistic. Our tires are more prone to overheating and wear, which can have a very serious impact."

“We did not conduct a full lap fastest test, but by adding up the fastest times of Wu Shi and Lewis in the three segments, we are in first place with a time of 1 minute 16.989 seconds.”

"A total of 1040 laps were completed, and the engine ran stably overall."

The performance director talked a lot, and finally Toto asked:
"The fastest time for Ferrari is 1 minute 17.182 seconds. How much faster can we be than that, I mean when driving alone?"

"It's at least 0.3 seconds, but that's a conservative estimate because we weren't using supersoft tires," the performance director replied.

Toto nodded and continued flipping through the data reports. As a former race car driver, he could handle these things with ease.

"What do the two drivers think?" Toto asked.

Hamilton looked at Wu Shi first, his expression as if to say, "You were the champion last year, you should speak first."

Wu Shi had no reason to be modest, because speaking first meant taking on more pressure—after all, if you say it's good, you have to perform well; if you say it's bad, you have to prove that it's not you who's bad, but the car.

"I don't think there's a big problem with top speed performance, but we're facing the same issue as last year: it's difficult to keep the tires at the right operating temperature."

"If we cannot solve this problem quickly, we may fall into a strategic disadvantage, just like last year."

Wu Shi said that no matter how well he drives, he cannot save the tires from deterioration when faced with the most stringent physical rules.

Toto nodded; he trusted Wu Shi's judgment.

Mercedes is indeed not well-suited to high-temperature tracks, and tire issues still need to be prioritized for resolution.

Hamilton then followed up with Wu Shi's words, but added a lot more data, including the road conditions under which the tires could reach their operating temperature, and how the tires performed under different air and track temperatures.

Wu Shi looked over and thought to himself, "The old man's little combo moves are really something else!"

“This year there are a total of seven dry tire formulations, which presents a greater challenge to our strategy,” Toto said, looking at the head of the strategy department.

The fully-fledged rainbow tire made its debut in 2018.

Dry tires consist of seven colors: pink, purple, red, yellow, white, blue, and orange.

These correspond to seven types of tires: softest, extra soft, super soft, soft, medium, hard, and super hard.

The rain tires are the same as before, in blue and green, corresponding to full rain tires and partial rain tires.

Furthermore, the racing rules have changed, and teams are no longer required to choose three tire compounds with alternating hard and soft profiles for each race.

In other words, you can use extreme combinations like super soft tires with neutral tires and super hard tires.

Who knows how many more variables have been added to this?

However, Mercedes doesn't have so many worries right now, because the super soft tires are almost impossible for Mercedes to use in the race, otherwise changing tires after ten laps would be too abstract.

Most teams won't choose the super hard one, as it's basically impossible to reach the operating temperature.

"Yes, we've taken note of that. We'll simulate the data to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances."

There aren't many good strategies either, as just 8 days of data can't cover all situations.

"Based on my previous analysis, I believe that Ferrari's engine likely has about 30 more horsepower than ours," the performance director suddenly added.

Toto remained composed. The advantage of the engine couldn't last forever. Ferrari had been chasing for four years, so it was normal for them to catch up.

Actually, Ferrari's engine was already quite impressive last year, but it was ultimately shut down after Mercedes made a complaint during the summer break about something that didn't comply with technical regulations.

Therefore, given the situation this year, Mercedes will definitely be keeping a close eye on things. If they find any designs that don't make sense, they can report them.

Racing competition is far more complex than simply setting up a car.

The cars on the track are the final deciding factors after all the competition has ended.

After the meeting, Alisen approached Wu Shi and talked to him about the new car.

Hamilton noticed this but said nothing, and simply went to his post.

Wu Shi shared his comprehensive understanding of the vehicle with Alisen, among which the most important data was the specific wear and tear of the tires under different conditions.

Because the equipment cannot effectively monitor tire wear in real time, it relies heavily on driver feedback.

"This is a form you need to fill out."

Allison took out a few sheets of paper.

The above content is similar to the questionnaire, but it also focuses on questions related to racing.

For example, at what time of day, how much difference is there between the tires before and after wear?

Because much of the data that drivers possess is very difficult to quantify, they can only obtain the desired data through approximation.

This is Wu Shi's forte; he can describe the most subtle differences between the tires before and after a curve.

After learning about Wu Shi's humanoid data testing device last year, Allison has always liked to use this method to obtain the data he wants.

Often, for engineers, finding a problem is more difficult than solving it, making the feedback data extremely important.

An hour later, Wu Shi finished filling out the form. After a quick glance, Allison said:

"Ferrari's engine development project started very early. I just don't know if the part I participated in the year before last has been used. I know Binotto very well. Their engines are not too bad, so the problems they face this year are probably not small."

Wu Shi smiled slightly and said:

"I will do my best to finish every race."

"Yes, I believe in you. You have the ability."

Allison returned the smile, which reminded him of Schumacher.

This racing legend not only drives well, but most importantly, his feedback on race car tuning is also very accurate.

Time flies by very quickly after the winter testing.

After final adjustments to the race cars, the 2018 Formula 1 season kicked off in Australia.

At the pre-race press conference, reporters were eager to ask the drivers how they viewed the situation this year.

Both Wu Shi and Hamilton expressed pessimism, believing that Ferrari was the fastest, while Mercedes was only second or even third fastest in the paddock.

People don't believe these claims, but there's no way to actually refute them; the Mercedes' performance in the winter testing was indeed mediocre.

Ricardo, facing increasing age, demonstrated his determination on camera, telling everyone:
“I hope to become the third Australian world champion after Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.”

"And I believe this could be possible as early as 2018."

Verstappen, on the other hand, did not seem so stressed about the World Cup. He is still young, and he knows that whether Red Bull can go fast or not this year will depend on the opening game.

Apart from Ferrari, everyone else seemed to be hiding their true intentions during the winter testing. How could one so easily judge the situation?
And has the engine stability issue really been resolved? Verstappen is not optimistic.

It's important to know that compared to last year, the rules for powertrain use have been tightened again this year; replacing more than three sets will result in penalties!
Vettel didn't say anything about being determined to win, but simply expressed his hope for a good start.

Along with the opening ceremony, an official streaming website prepared by Liberty Media, namely F1 TV, also arrived.

This website covers F2, GP3 and Porsche Supercup racing, and also provides access to all in-vehicle cameras.

As expected of someone in the media industry, this website has indeed greatly facilitated F1 fans' access to information, and the various selectable perspectives have given fans more material to analyze the races.

The whole of F1 seems to be thriving!
However, when the free practice session started on Friday, everyone was surprised to find that there were two Mercedes-Benz cars in front of them again!

Ferrari did manage to redeem themselves on Saturday, achieving the fastest lap in PB3, but even that was slower than PB2!

Sure enough, in the afternoon qualifying session, Ferrari was defeated by Mercedes.

From various perspectives, people noticed that Wu Shi and Hamilton frequently pressed a certain button on the steering wheel.

Pressing this button seems to give the race car some extra horsepower.

Soon after the match, reporters asked this question, and Wu Shi and Hamilton naturally declined to comment.

The reporter then turned to Hamilton and asked what had happened that led to his performance in qualifying for the opening race being inferior to his teammate's.

Hamilton stated frankly that nothing happened, it was just a normal game, and then Wu Shi won.

The reporter then asked Wu Shi if he was competing for his third world championship.

As instructed by the press officer, Wu Shi told the media that this year has just begun and everything is unknown. Nobody knows whether Ferrari or Mercedes will be faster.

After Saturday's interviews, everyone realized that they couldn't get anything out of either of the Mercedes drivers.

Some people even said that Wu Shi's words should be taken in reverse: if he said he didn't know whether the Mercedes or the Ferrari was faster, then the Mercedes must be faster.

Toto even spoke with Wu Shi after seeing this comment.

Wu Shi was at a loss for words; what could he do?
Should I tell the truth?
He doesn't seem like that kind of person!
Oh no, he's not that arrogant.

The reporters' antics actually eased some of the pre-match tension.

When Wu Shi arrived at the track on Sunday, a small section of the stands erupted in cheers as his camera appeared.

He was somewhat surprised to see so many fans outside of his homeland and Italy.

"You have so many car enthusiasts!" Locke said enviously from the side.

Wu Shi looked at the still incredibly green Leclerc and laughed, "You'll have your day too."

"Thank you, but I'd much rather be on the podium sooner than with so many fans."

Leclerc said that the common goal of rookie drivers is to stand on the podium.

Verstappen, upon hearing this, said bluntly: "Sauber's speed is a bit difficult."

“Yes, I know, but I still need to seize the opportunity. Wu Shi won the championship at Williams, he is my role model!” Leclerc said generously.

"Haha, old driver, look, you even have fans who followed you all the way to the paddock."

Verstappen joked that the youngest drivers of their generation basically grew up watching Schumacher.

If we're talking about role models, then the King of Cars is a prime example, but Lock & Lock directly named Wu Shi as their role model.

Wu Shi patted Leclerc on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Keep it up!"

At 4:10 PM, the 2018 season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, officially began.

Wu Shi and Hamilton started from the front row, beginning the warm-up lap for the entire crowd.

After one lap, the intense heat assaulted every driver.

Having gotten used to starting from the front, Wu Shi found himself becoming fatigued with the indicator lights and no longer as sensitive as before.

Therefore, at this point he had to use some special techniques to maintain his focus.

He finally understood why Hamilton consistently underperformed in the first half of each season from 2014 to 2021.

Because years of world championships and long-term victories have made him lose the anticipation of winning a single race, he can only get into the game when he is behind in points and has the mentality of chasing.

Thinking this way might seem like judging others by oneself, but it's undeniable that Wu Shi had already developed this mindset last year.

Fortunately, Jonathan's wake-up call made Wu Shi realize that he needed to focus on every game.

He caught a glimpse of the flashing red light out of the corner of his eye and immediately started to increase the engine speed.

The engine's throbbing felt like his heart was pounding in his chest; in that instant, he felt it.

Snapped!
Lights out, start running!

hum!
Wu Shi's start was still very quick, and Hamilton, who started from the dirty side, didn't have many opportunities. He couldn't even test the waters at Turn 1.

"Wu Shi got off to a very fast start! He maintained his lead."

Lewis followed behind, looking for an opportunity, but Wu Shi blocked all the routes! Lewis had no chance!
Kimi tried to reach Lewis, but he didn't get a chance!

The commentator quickly described the departure situation, but the front seats remained secure.

I thought the audience was disappointed with this kind of storyline, but the cheers from the fans of Wu Shi, a two-time world champion, made up for the disappointment.

People admire strength, and powerful drivers always attract a large number of fans.

"Wu Shi's performance remains consistent, but Hamilton also seems to be in good form this year," the soldier added.

On lap 18, Wu Shi was recalled to the pits, Hamilton moved up to first place, and Vettel to second.

"Did they arrive at the station so early?" the soldier asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Kimi entered the pit lane last lap, probably to block Kimi," Fei said.

Wu Shi returned to the track and remained ahead of Kimi, in third place.

On lap 19, as usual with Mercedes, Hamilton was recalled to continue the race behind Wu Shi.

Vettel rose to the top of the table.

"The difference is 12.5 seconds now, catch up as quickly as possible," Jonathan told Wu Shi. Wu Shi followed the team's instructions and continued to accelerate to close the gap.

However, an unexpected event occurred.

On lap 25, Grosjean veered off the grass, triggering the virtual safety car.

"We're doomed!" the soldier exclaimed, clapping his hands.

Sure enough, Vettel seized the opportunity and immediately went into the pit lane to change tires.

With the speed limit in place, Vettel came out and immediately blocked Wu Shi's path.

Toto slammed his fist on the table.

He's ahead of me.

Wu Shi saw the red rear end of the Ferrari.

“Okay, let’s wait for the safety car to finish,” Jonathan said.

After 31 laps, the safety car was removed, and Wu Shi immediately began preparing for the attack.

On lap 33, the DRS restarted, and the Mercedes, number 59, immediately roared behind the Ferrari.

Before turn 1, Wu Shi tried to find an opportunity, but his expression changed immediately after just one attempt.

Compared to 2015, this year's race car is extremely sensitive to turbulence!
Just as he got close to Vettel's rear end, he felt the downforce on the front wheels instantly drop by nearly a third.

How do I overtake?

Wu Shi realized that a wheel-to-wheel attack would be very difficult because without front downforce, there would be no way to perform complex cornering maneuvers.

Like Wu Shi, Hamilton also noticed the situation and immediately abandoned the idea of ​​driving through two tires, preparing to protect his own tires first.

As always, in Australia, there's only one stop, meaning this soft tire system will be used for the entire run.

Hamilton's decision was undoubtedly wise. While Wu Shi and Vettel were locked in a battle of wits, he waited until the two had worn down each other before he could profit.

Jonathan considered whether Wu Shi should abandon the attack so that they could preserve their strength to suppress Hamilton.

But he immediately shook his head. If he was so meticulous about the first stop, he would have a hard time getting past Toto.

After following Vettel for three consecutive laps, Wu Shi's tires overheated, forcing him to slow down.

"Overtaking looks really difficult this year," the soldier said.

“Yes, it’s obvious that Wu Shi was having a hard time entering corners behind Vettel’s slipstream and was constantly correcting his direction,” Fei Ge nodded.

"As aerodynamics continues to improve, the negative consequence is that vehicles are increasingly affected by turbulence," Yingjie also said.

If the cars in the paddock in 2014 and 2015 were all muscle cars, by 2018 they were sophisticated aerodynamic track cars.

Any fluctuation in air quality can immediately trigger a severe "allergic reaction" in the race car.

Wu Shi's slowing down did not mean he had given up the attack; rather, it was a process of analyzing the situation he had observed over the three laps.

Vettel would instinctively make defensive movements during every attack.

Each of his probes allowed him to gauge the reaction of the car in front and observe the changes in grip caused by turbulence.

He also needs time to plan and find the perfect opportunity to strike when he wants to turn these circumstances into a basis for an attack.

After three more laps, once the tires had cooled down, Wu Shi began to approach Vettel's 1-second zone again.

As they entered the attack and defense zone, the impact of the turbulence increased rapidly.

However, Wu Shi, who had already keenly noticed these circumstances, began to change the racing line, which alleviated the situation somewhat.

Wu Shi's actions immediately triggered an overreaction from Vettel.

In fact, any driver who sees themselves defending against Wu Shi would have the same thought.

Before Turn 1, it was another probing move. Vettel took control of the center line and didn't care about the inside line.

In fact, there was really no way to use the inside players; Wu Shi couldn't get past the rim.

Susu!

The two cars drove past turns 1 and 2 in succession and entered the second section of DRS.

At the end of the DRS, Wu Shi tried playing inside.

Vettel, however, showed no mercy by cutting into the racing line and then taking the inside line at Turn 4. His defense on the track remained impenetrable.

Hamilton followed behind, also looking for an opportunity.

The three cars were within 3 seconds of each other, and the broadcast camera was drawn to the three people.

"Oh! The three world champions have already begun their competition in the very first race!"

David said excitedly, "Who wouldn't want to see these match moments?"
Susu!

One red car and two silver cars sped through the bend until they reached the slow turn number 9.

Wu Shi slammed on the brakes very late, as if he were about to bring a torpedo straight at him, giving Vettel a cold sweat.

However, this was all within Wu Shi's plan, but the grip was lower than expected, and his race car shook violently, almost losing control and going off the track.

Hamilton, who was behind, immediately tried to rush forward, but the turbulence also affected him.

Wu Shi glanced at the rearview mirror but couldn't see what was going on. The only thing he could do was to straighten the vehicle and drive away immediately!

hum!
On the long, curved track, Vettel widened the gap again, extending it to nearly 0.9 seconds.

Hamilton, who was behind Wu Shi, arrived 0.4 seconds later.

"Hamilton is going to make the first move!"

"Wu Shi was too hasty!"

Both Bingge and Feige sighed with regret, because there was DRS after corners 11 and 12, which gave Hamilton an opportunity!
However, the audience was clearly unaware of just how difficult the overtaking situations were for the drivers on the track.

Wu Shi slightly blocked the route.

Hamilton had barely penetrated the paint when he noticed the vehicle's instability and had to slow down, watching as Wu Shi continued to maintain the lead.

Hamilton's attempts on four consecutive corners all ended in failure.

"The downforce loss in the front wing is very severe, and my tires are in worse condition too," Hamilton said in the TR.

Toto's expression darkened; a Ferrari was pinning down two Mercedes-Benzes.

On lap 41, Wu Shi once again closed in on Vettel, looking for an opportunity to attack except at turn 9.

Vettel was always informed of the situation via TR, and every time he defended, he was wearing out his tires and battling against Mercedes behind him.

Both sides are actually facing difficulties.

Swish!
Wu Shi set the fastest lap time, 1 minute 26.633 seconds.

The race has entered lap 42.

"The difference is 0.6," Jonathan reported.

Wu Shi attempted another inside shot before Turn 3, but Vettel blocked the center line again.

With insufficient downforce on the front wing, he couldn't risk going into the corner and had to slow down to avoid losing control.

He had a very clear understanding of the time spent during these 10 laps.

After defending another corner, Vettel continued his high-speed run.

He knew that on this section of the track, Wu Shi would only try to get as close to him as possible, and then use the DRS after turns 11 and 12 to try to overtake him at turn 13.

Therefore, what needs to be done during this period is to charge the tires and keep the tire temperature as suitable as possible.

Wu Shi stared intently at the taillights that were flashing four times, closing the distance to 0.4 seconds.

The two remained unharmed at bends 6-8.

"There's no chance at Turn 9 either; Wu Shi made a mistake there earlier," Fei Ge said after seeing this.

"Does Vettel's battery still have power?" the soldier asked.

"The Vettel's taillights are flashing, so it must be charging."

"No wonder Wu Shi got closer to Vettel on the sharp turn 8," the soldier nodded.

As the distance drew closer, Wu Shi's heart began to race; what followed was an extremely risky move!
Before Turn 9, after Vettel entered the braking zone from the center line, he suddenly swerved to the inside line to brake.

Heh!

The brakes came on a fraction of an hour earlier than before, but it almost caused it to overshoot the target point again.

'so close! '

The adrenaline made Wu Shi feel no fear, only excitement.

Then, he turned the steering wheel to the right and aimed at the apex of the bend, driving over it.

Swish!
In an instant, Vettel sensed Wu Shi squeezing in from the inside.

How dare he?

The thought flashed through his mind, and Vettel began to discharge electricity without hesitation.

Buzz! !
The two cars passed through Turn 10 side by side, one after the other.

Vettel widened the gap again by using a better exit line from the corner.

However, Wu Shi behind him used the traction to the extreme, firmly wedging the front wing of his car next to Vettel's rear wheel.

Vettel wanted to push Wu Shi further out to take advantage of the long, full-throttle stretch of the road.

But Wu Shi's carriage remained motionless.

When Vettel got close, he glanced in the rearview mirror and didn't dare to squeeze in, otherwise his rear wheel would definitely hit the front wing, and he would be dead!

"Wow! The Mercedes is fast! How can we keep up?!" the soldier exclaimed.

"Mercedes-Benz excels at these high-speed curves!" Sister Ying added.

From a helicopter's perspective, two F1 cars, one red and one silver, sped by, entering Turn 11 in the blink of an eye like entangled particles.

Vettel regained some advantage by entering the corner from the inside.

However, Route 11 is a very sharp, obtuse bend, so the inside advantage isn't as significant as one might expect.

Wu Shi had to brake late again. He had to place the front wing on the side of the Vettel's car, otherwise he would definitely not have a place to enter the corner!

Sure enough, after number 11, Vettel found that Wu Shi was still behind him, and he couldn't possibly squeeze him without any scruples.

Two top-notch drivers with exceptional driving skills naturally understand each other's hidden agendas.

Whoosh! Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the 12th position came to the right, and Wu Shi finally got his first open shot inside.

Buzz! ! !

With DRS activated, Wu Shi quickly pulled up speed on this not-quite-straight section of the track and caught up with Vettel.

Then the entire car gradually pulled forward, and the front wing overtook Vettel!

The front wheel overtook Vettel!
The side air intake surpasses Vettel's!

Heh!

As the right-hand corner approached on the 13th, Wu Shi braked and swerved into the inside lane, leaving Vettel squeezed out on the center line, resulting in a huge loss.

hum!
Wu Shi pressed the accelerator, and the precise torque control allowed the traction to be fully utilized, completely achieving a breakthrough!

He immediately moved into the center line and blocked Vettel's counterattack route at Turn 14.

At the next turn, he sped along the kerb, showcasing his top speed.

Buzz! !
On the starting straight, the first car to emerge after turning 16 was a silver Mercedes!

"Oooo!!!"

The audience stood up in unison and cheered.

Susu!

The two F1 cars sped through the starting straight again, but the offensive and defensive positions had been reversed!

Toto slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "NICE!"

“Good job.” Jonathan’s voice remained steady.

Wu Shi returned all the defensive moves that Vettel had previously made to him.

Vettel was stuck in the back, feeling extremely frustrated.

Even a Ferrari isn't much better than a Mercedes in turbulence.

Hamilton, positioned behind, then set his sights on Vettel.

After four laps, Vettel lost interest in attacking Wu Shi and had to find a way to stop him.

Without the pressure of the car in front, Wu Shi's older tires allowed him to achieve lap times significantly faster than Ferrari in clean air, with an advantage of almost 0.2 seconds per lap.

Hamilton's ability is beyond doubt, so he is also trying to surpass Vettel.

However, Vettel learned his lesson and was willing to wear out his tires to stop Hamilton.

In this back-and-forth exchange, Hamilton did not gain the advantage over Vettel in the subsequent attack.

Lap 54, lap 55. All the attacks failed, and Hamilton even slid at Turn 9, almost ruining his race.

Lap 58, the last lap of the race.

When Wu Shi turned the 16th bend again, he could already see the checkered flag waving ahead.

Swish!
Mercedes-Benz W09, number 59, crosses the finish line!

Wu Shi crosses the finish line!

He excitedly swayed back and forth on the track, shouting into the TR:
"Wuhu, a resounding victory! YESSSS!!!"

Five seconds later, Vettel crossed the finish line, with Hamilton following 0.6 seconds behind.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't do it." Vettel's voice was somewhat low in the TR.

Hamilton's voice was also somewhat low: "I don't understand what happened, why Wu Shi and I fell behind after we came out."

After letting the car cool down, Wu Shi parked it behind license plate number 1.

He gently patted his car, number 59, with unusual excitement.

He then rushed towards the crew to celebrate.

When Vettel arrived, he shook hands with him and they hugged. Hamilton did the same.

Of the three people on the podium, only one seemed genuinely happy.

In the lounge, all three of them were looking at the screen.

"Safety car, huh? We'll fall behind after the safety car." Hamilton shook his head as he watched.

Vettel gulped down two mouthfuls of water and said, "You still dare to drive into the inside line at Turn 9?"

"Yeah, it almost got out of control." Wu Shi brushed his wet hair back and said with a smile.

In fact, it really came very close. If that attack had failed again, he probably would have had a hard time finding an opportunity to attack.

Hamilton confirmed this for him: "You timed it perfectly, but I can't believe you braked so late."

The three of them gave their opinions, but the situation was different from last year; they seemed more concerned about how the competition had developed in this way.

As the noise outside was heard, the event officials reminded the group to go out and collect their awards, and the three of them walked out one by one.

Wu Shi stood on the highest podium, and a burst of cheers erupted from the audience.

After the national anthem was played, the awards were presented, and champagne was sprayed.
The interviewer walked onto the podium, and it was a familiar face: Weber.

"Hey, Wu Shi, we meet here again. You did a fantastic job today."

Webber seemed very happy, perhaps because Vettel didn't win the championship?

"Yeah, thank you, hello to all the car enthusiasts in Australia~"

He greeted everyone before saying, "Today was supposed to be a normal lead race, but we encountered some problems with the safety car, and we fell behind after we came out."

"I don't know the situation, I only know that it will be very difficult to surpass Vettel."

"It's become much harder to follow and overtake other cars in this year's race. I tried many laps before I found the right opportunity to make a final attempt."

“Whoa!” Weber exclaimed, and continued:
“I saw it too. A brilliant overtaking maneuver, a perfectly precise braking maneuver. You’re saying this is the final test? If it doesn’t work, you’ll give up?”

"Of course not, I will continue to think of ways, but I feel that is the only chance, because the tires will get worse as the game goes on, and there will be fewer and fewer overtaking maneuvers that can be performed," Wu Shi explained.

"GOOD! GOOD! You never let us down!"

After Webber finished praising Vettel, he looked at him with a somewhat strange smile:

"Sebastian, you had a great opportunity presented to you today, but you ultimately missed it?"

Vettel didn't seem to care about Webber's expression; he simply nodded.
"Yes, I had a great opportunity. I unexpectedly maintained my lead in the second stint as well, but I didn't expect to be overtaken. It was my fault."

Weber saw the dejected Vettel, but lost the desire to ask any further questions.

So he went over to Hamilton and said, "Can you tell me what happened?"

“I still find it hard to believe. I don’t understand what happened. I thought this would be a competition between me and Wu Shi for the championship.”

Hamilton sighed and continued:
"After Wu Shi entered the station and stopped, I had no choice but to follow him in. I knew that all of this relied on a large number of computers, data, and technologies."
“If a device tells us what to do and we follow it strictly, we have no room for maneuver, and that’s what’s happening today.”

“We could have run for longer, but we were also afraid of Kimi’s undercut. We should have had a more sophisticated strategy.”

Weber smiled slightly and offered no comment.

After the awards ceremony ended, Wu Shi and Jonathan walked back together with the trophy, only to see Leclerc walking towards them.

"You're really amazing, it's hard to imagine you were able to overtake here," Locke said.

"I was just lucky," Wu Shi told Lock & Lock, explaining why he dared to perform that maneuver at Turn 9.

However, Lock & Lock shook his head after hearing this, indicating that he dared not.

As a rookie, I'm still afraid of crashing. Wu Shi mentioned the braking point; if you don't control it well, it's like being hit by a torpedo.

Torpedoing a vehicle is a very serious offense in the paddock.

They brought the first championship trophy back to the pit room, and Toto and his group celebrated enthusiastically.

"Well done! Really well done!"

Toto praised him repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles.

A successful start is good for any team.

(End of this chapter)