F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 317 Unstoppable
Singapore is very hot, which will first and foremost affect the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Secondly, street racing is not good news for Mercedes, which has an extremely long wheelbase.

However, Mercedes is still trying to adapt to Singapore this year.

In the three practice matches, Mercedes has been searching for the best setup, and this momentum has led the commentators to believe that they had not misjudged Mercedes' situation here.

Before qualifying on Saturday night, reporters handed microphones to Wu Shi and Hamilton to inquire about their situations.

"You guys struggled a bit throughout the practice sessions. Are you ready for qualifying?" the reporter asked.

"I think so. The practice matches were quite difficult. We tried many different setups, and we're hoping for a good result tonight," Wu Shi said.

The reporter then asked Hamilton the same question, to which Hamilton shook his head and said:

"Our priority is to ensure we are competitive enough, which is something we still lack."

In contrast, Hamilton's speech lacked confidence, and people were indeed unsure about Mercedes' situation.

However, based on the analysis of practice matches, Mercedes did struggle quite a bit here.

So Ferrari and Red Bull are still hoping to make up for lost points here.

At 9 p.m., the Marina Bay Road Raceway was brightly lit, illuminating the track as if it were daytime.

Q1 started quickly, but most drivers did not choose to go on the track immediately.

For the first few minutes, the entire track was empty, and it wasn't until three minutes later that slower cars started to enter.

Mercedes put Hamilton's car off the track 5 minutes after the start of Q1, letting him take the field first.

Jonathan concluded by telling Wu Shi, "Be careful."

“I understand,” Wu Shi nodded.

Three minutes later, Hamilton's first lap time came out: 1 minute 39.717 seconds.

Clearly, this result was somewhat disappointing, so Hamilton had to simply cool down and recharge for one lap before preparing for the next one.

Despite the restrictions, Wu Shi managed to achieve a time of 1 minute 38.887 seconds.

This is enough to guarantee his entry into Q2, but he also plans to make full use of the time to drive one more lap to gain a better understanding of the track.

Hamilton clocked a time of 1 minute 39.403 seconds on his second lap, which was still not considered fast.

When the clock stopped in Q1, Hamilton was in 14th place, narrowly beating Gasly by 0.211 seconds.

This result instantly made everyone think that Mercedes was finished.

Wu Shi's performance ranked only seventh, far inferior to Red Bull and Ferrari.

Toto crossed his arms and stared intently at the screen. He believed in Wu Shi's abilities, but Hamilton's precarious running style was causing him to frown.

Hamilton's situation improved immediately in Q2.

首个飞驰圈就跑出来1分37秒344的成绩，但紧接着的第二个飞驰圈成绩又落到了1分38秒889。

Nobody knows what the old man is doing; he can have a 1.5-second difference between two laps.

Wu Shi remained steady and returned to the pit lane after running a time of 1 minute 37.254 seconds.

Ferrari and Red Bull, who appeared aggressive, were not bluffing. Kimi finished first with a time of 1 minute 37.194 seconds.

Like Wu Shi, Verstappen finished second with a time of 1 minute 37.214 seconds on just one lap.

On the contrary, Vettel finished sixth with a time of 1 minute 37.876 seconds.

Although Q2 wasn't a time when the drivers were pushing themselves to the limit, the results still gave a good indication of their condition today.

For many top F1 drivers, there is a difference in lap times between good and bad form.

If a driver can ignore his condition and push the limits of a race car, then he can be considered the undisputed GOAT of the paddock.

Q2 ended with the elimination of Alonso, Sainz, Leclerc, Eriksen, and Gasly.

All three teams have made it into Q3, with Racing Point's Perez and Ocon also reaching Q3.

"It seems that Mercedes isn't as uncompetitive as they say."

"I'm seeing Wu Shi and Hamilton's Q2 results," Bing Ge said.

These two ranked third and fourth, respectively.

Did they say they weren't competitive?

"have it."

"If it's Wu Shi, you have to take his words in reverse; he never said his racing car was very good."

"Haha, so if he says his race car is good, doesn't that mean it's bad?" the soldier asked with a laugh.

"It seems like that was really the case in 2016? He said the car was nice, hahaha!" Fei Ge laughed along.

In the chat room, Q3 has been running for 5 minutes.

Of the three teams, Kimi's time came out the earliest, but it was only 1 minute 37.403 seconds.

"This progress is too slow."

“Yes, there isn’t much improvement compared to Q2.” Fei Ge nodded.

Following Kimi was Hamilton, whom Toto had been watching intently as he entered the arena.

In the final few corners of the warm-up lap, Hamilton had already entered qualifying mode, and the car began to sprint with full power output.

The long straight flashed by, and then came the perfect entry into Turn 1. However, during the transition from the turn to the combination turn 2, the car trembled slightly and fishtailed.

Hamilton had to immediately counter-attack, which affected his speed when entering and exiting the corner.

However, once he exited Turn 3, he was completely in top form.

He made no corrections to the next few turns, maneuvering into and out of the corners cleanly and crisply, like a flowing brushstroke in calligraphy.

Once the first timeout period was over, he cut Kimi's time by 0.330 seconds!
Purple: SECTOR 1 HAMILTON 26.263.

Toto immediately realized that his previous mistake had not had a significant impact on Hamilton.

However, Wu Shi, who was lapping behind Hamilton, quickly delivered his own results.

0.394 seconds faster than Kimi!
Purple: SECTOR 1 WUSHI 26.199.

Hamilton's S1, which was originally painted purple, suddenly turned green.

"Faster!"

Toto couldn't keep his serious expression in check and burst into laughter.

What can Ferrari and Red Bull use to compete with me?
At this point, the three comedians were unaware of the constantly updating data below the director's video.

They just saw the camera suddenly switch to Toto.

"Why is Toto laughing? Is Mercedes doing well?" the soldier blurted out.

"Uh, it was a bit fast. Hamilton just flashed purple in the first timeout, and then Wu Shi flashed purple again," Haoran said.

He had barely finished speaking when the old man finished his second timed segment.

36.967 seconds! Another purple hue.

He's already 1.034 seconds faster than Kimi!

“Hamilton’s lap time is at least 0.2 seconds faster,” Haoran suddenly said.

The director also showed the T-shaped view, where Hamilton was already on the last stretch of the road.

However, at this moment, the perspective suddenly shifted to Wu Shi's side.

He was dealing with turns 10-13 at that moment.

This route, though not long, was full of twists and turns.

The guardrails and lights on both sides flashed by rapidly, and Wu Shi turned the steering wheel in the cockpit at lightning speed. Even though all the movements were done in one go, they still seemed too complicated!
This is street racing, a high-speed pipeline race where a slight mistake can lead to a major accident!

"This shot is so intense!" Fei Ge said.

"Yeah, I have a feeling he's about to crash into something at any moment," Haoran said.

Swish!
36.969 seconds!
"Wu Shi was two-thousandths of a second slower than Hamilton in the second timing segment!"

"But he was faster in the first time slot."

Everyone stared at Hamilton.

At this point, the time comparison on the field was still Kimi's 1 minute 37.403 seconds.

The camera focused on Hamilton, the silver warship speeding through the bend like a high-speed train.

Swish!
1 minutes 36 seconds 015!

A total of 1.388 seconds was cut off from Kimi!
"Wow!"

"36 seconds and zero!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

The three of them exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously, but the soldier quickly recovered and said:

"Wu Shi is not finished yet." The camera then focused on Mercedes-Benz Arena, number 59.

Just 20 seconds later, another Mercedes crossed the finish line.

Swish!
1 minutes 35 seconds 950!

"Oh my God!"

"35.9 seconds? Is Mercedes really that fast?!"

"It's over, Ferrari and Red Bull are completely finished."

At the scene, the moment the results were announced, the Mercedes-Benz Arena's practice room erupted in applause.

At the Red Bull control wall, Horner clutched his forehead, and Verstappen was also quick, but his time of 1 minute 36.334 seconds left him nearly 0.4 seconds from pole position.

"This is the answer sheet submitted by the two top drivers in the paddock!" the soldier exclaimed again.

"But Mercedes really went fast tonight; Hamilton had been hiding his true strength for a long time," Fei said.

"Q1 They must have planned it all out; they won't let Hamilton get eliminated."

Mercedes' two incredible performances forced all pole-sitters to take a second flying lap.

Even Wu Shi and Hamilton themselves had to pit for tire changes in preparation for another lap of racing.

However, the outcome for most drivers was already decided after the S1 results were released.

Hamilton thought he could optimize S1 better, but in fact he was slower than on the previous lap.

It may appear that there were no mistakes, but in reality, it was far from the limit.

With Hamilton released, Wu Shi behind him was also released.

There's no need for him to risk another lap, as these conditions are an extreme test for the race car and could easily cause damage.

The two raced around the track once, finally parking their car behind the marker.

After getting off the bus, Hamilton went straight to Wu Shi and extended his hand.

Wu Shi was not surprised and extended his hand to shake hands with him.

Click~
A reporter took this photo.

Under a pitch-black night sky and a brightly lit racetrack, two drivers in Mercedes racing suits shake hands.

“I feel like Hamilton sometimes feels old,” the soldier suddenly said.

“Indeed, if it weren’t for Wu Shi, he would have already won four world championships and was on his way to a fifth,” Haoran said.

"You can't say that. If Hamilton weren't there, wouldn't Alonso have more world championships? Massa would be a world champion too. That's sports; there are always stronger people joining the competition." The soldier quickly steered the conversation back on track.

Wu Shi and Hamilton returned to the P room, where Toto rarely showed his excitement and enthusiasm directly.

The champagne that had been prepared beforehand was opened.

"Both of you, today's performance was absolutely brilliant!" Toto said.

Wu Shi was laughing, and Hamilton was laughing too, but everyone knew that their smiles were definitely not the same.

The evening breeze in Singapore is always hot and dry.

Once the qualifying rounds are over, the schedule for the next day's matches is basically set.

Sunday night in Singapore was still muggy, with clouds overhead obscuring the stars, but the weather forecast predicted no rain.

No rain means there aren't many variables. It's not a street race for overtaking, so qualifying position basically determines the outcome of the main race.

Therefore, the top three positions of Wu Shi, Hamilton, and Verstappen are unshakeable.

After nearly two hours of hard work, the three of them were almost dehydrated from the heat, but they finally finished the competition.

The old man was older and clearly more tired sitting in the car.

After Wu Shi climbed out of the race car, his cheeks were slightly sunken, and he was almost completely drained of moisture.

On the podium, the interviewer said to Hamilton:

"On Thursday, some people criticized you for not spending enough time at the factory, but your performance today was still perfect. You successfully withstood Max's attacks throughout the game."

Hamilton nodded and said:

"Yes, I'm in great shape this weekend. I actually know this car very well now. Its traction is excellent and it doesn't overheat as easily as before."

“I ran a lap I really liked yesterday, the only regret was the entry into turn 2, which cost me pole position.”

"As for my life, I believe everyone has their own life, and we shouldn't judge it casually."

After the old man finished speaking, he stopped talking. It was clear that his mood had been gradually declining since yesterday.

Wu Shi has never been able to beat many other races in the past, and he has always been able to admit that it was because he had not run them perfectly.

However, after watching the replay of yesterday's qualifying race, he realized that such a perfect and extreme lap was lost to Wu Shi by just one flaw.

Wu Shi seemed to be able to push the car to its limits in every qualifying session and on every track, without any mistakes, fear, or accidents.

If he wants to compete with Wu Shi, wouldn't that require him to be at his peak in every match, just like Wu Shi?
How can this be?

He's already starting to doubt himself. Is there really any hope if he stays at Mercedes?
He used to not want to compete with Vettel, but now he's thinking it might be better to go to Ferrari, where at least he can still experience the thrill of defeating his teammate.

Driving alongside Wu Shi for too long at Mercedes can make you lose the will to continue racing.

Fireworks lit up the Singapore night sky, and as the three winners stepped off the stage, an unfamiliar song began to play.

A powerful and rhythmic vocal performance begins, followed by surprisingly Chinese lyrics.

At this moment, Wu Shi remembered that Lin JJ had said here last year that she would write a song for him.

The noisy environment of the stadium made it impossible to hear the lyrics clearly, except for the climax, "Unstoppable, unparalleled in the world."

Wu Shi smiled knowingly, noting that "势" (shì) and "轼" (shì) are homophones.

Back in the P room, Lin JJ greeted him with a smile and said:

"I was planning to post it earlier, but I thought it would be perfect to post it when you win another championship!"

"Haha, thank you, I like it very much."

Wu Shi chatted with him for a while about his creative process, but it wasn't for very long because he needed to check his health as soon as possible.

Lying back in the ice bucket, the old man suddenly said, "64 points."

Wu Shi knew that the old man was talking about the difference in their scores, and he nodded.

"There are still six matches left. Even if you get third place in all of them, you can still win the world championship without any surprises. Congratulations on becoming a three-time world champion," Hamilton said.

Wu Shi took a deep breath and said:

"Thank you."

"If you're thanking me for congratulating you, then I accept your thanks. But if you're thanking me for letting you win three world championships, then you don't need to thank me."

Hamilton turned his head, which was resting on the edge of the barrel, and smiled.

"Ah, hahaha, thank you for your congratulations, and thank you for being able to have such a calm conversation right now," Wu Shi said.

Wow!
Hamilton sat up and said, "I'll beat you next year, and the year after."

"Although I don't usually like to boast, if this is the case, I can only say that I have never lost to my teammates."

Wu Shi laughed. At 20 years old, he was at his peak and fearless of any challenge.

The old man's willpower was honed from his go-karting days.

In F1, he first triumphed over Alonso in a brutal internal team battle, showcasing the true pinnacle of McLaren's internal rivalry!

He then defeated Massa and suppressed Rosberg.

Things went smoothly until 2015.

"Yeah, of course."

Hamilton responded, then lay back down, staring at the ceiling.

Wu Shi also stared at the ceiling, another 25 points were added to his account, bringing his total score of 291 to unmatched.

Even Hamilton, who was closest to him, lost the will to continue fighting.

He fiddled with the ice water, but his mind was still on yesterday's qualifying race. He hadn't handled some of the corners as well as the old man.

This shows that he didn't fully push the W09 to its limits, otherwise he could have gone even faster.

He knew that if he had teammates with similar lap times to his as a benchmark, he could find a way to fully unleash the car's potential more quickly.

As for simulators, they cannot simulate the most extreme working conditions.

Yesterday, both he and the old man achieved faster lap times than the best lap times simulated by the simulator computer.

So, he's still not strong enough; he hasn't fully understood racing and the track.

If this is possible, then theoretically, his lap time is the car's maximum lap time on that track—excluding the effects of variables such as headwinds and tailwinds.

(End of this chapter)