F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 319 Mercedes built a Mars rover?

With as many as 21 races throughout the year, the season ends at the end of November.

With work wrapping up in two weeks, Christmas is just around the corner.

Wu Shi's packed schedule has finally been relieved, and he can now properly celebrate Louise's new status as a college student!

After passing written tests, interviews, independent examinations, and receiving letters of recommendation, Louise was finally admitted to Bocconi University.

As a student at one of the top social science schools in Europe, Louise is a true high achiever.

Unlike Wu Shi, who was an illiterate man who hadn't received much formal education.

Louise was very happy and said she wanted to work for the racing team after graduation.

Martina immediately advised Louise not to be so suicidal, and Wu Shi laughed heartily.

Christmas has just passed, and Ferrari is already back to work.

On January 9, 2019, Ferrari officially announced that Mattia Binotto would succeed Maurizio Arrivabene as the F1 team principal, effective immediately.

Ferrari did not offer an explanation, but simply thanked Maurizio in a statement for his contributions over the past four years.

Since he took over as team principal in 2015, Ferrari had a chance to return to its peak in 2017 and 2018.

However, the strong combination of Wu Shi and Hamilton in the Mercedes team made Ferrari very vulnerable.

Many media outlets immediately forwarded this important statement, and Wu Shi, of course, saw it as well. He was somewhat surprised that Martina had not been selected as the team leader.

The issues that Wu Shi was concerned about were mentioned in numerous media news commentaries and event analyses.

Firstly, Maurizio's departure was almost inevitable, because Ferrari had made major tactical and strategic mistakes in team management, which led to Vettel losing a lot of points, and the team principal had to take the blame.

Secondly, Vettel's form visibly declined in 2018, and he experienced significant emotional problems. The team management failed to detect and address this issue in a timely manner, which was also a dereliction of duty on the part of the team leader.

Finally, Maurizio is, after all, a managerial background, and many reports say he is at odds with technical director Binotto.

Although the news sources were varied, Wu Shi could find some truth in them by comparing them with what he heard in the hunting grounds.

As for why Martina wasn't appointed as team leader, many believe Ferrari was unwilling to accept another team leader without a technical background.

Moreover, Binotto has been driving for Ferrari since 1995, so in terms of seniority, Martina can't catch up.

This incident did not disturb Wu Shi's vacation.

In February, he returned to China and his hometown. He spent the Lunar New Year with his father in a simple house in the countryside, listening to the sound of firecrackers and watching the fireworks fill the sky. It was a wonderful night.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the damp morning air lingered with the scent of the old year, and firecrackers went off incessantly in front of the ancestral hall. The smoke that filled the air was not from the flames of war, but from the worship of ancestors.

For seven consecutive days, the banquets continued.

The elders in the family didn't know what Wu Zhenlin and Wu Shi were doing outside; they only knew that the two were well-known handsome young men in the surrounding area.

There were quite a few elderly men in their seventies and eighties who tried to matchmake Wu Zhenlin and Wu Shi.

There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how the atmosphere is in our hometown. For them, farming, getting married, having children, and having fun are all they need for a lifetime.

The joys and sorrows, the ups and downs during that time may seem insignificant to outsiders, but that is the ordinary life of an average person.

Wu Shi didn't feign his fondness for such ordinary and arduous days, nor did he condescendingly belittle their lives.

Because "whenever you feel like criticizing someone, remember that not everyone in this world has had the advantages that you have."

And as long as one is alive and does not violate the law, how one lives is a personal matter.

Don't talk grandly about the meaning of life to others, nor be depressed about your mediocre life. Everyone's life is their own.

Living itself completes the cycle of life; this is the deepest mystery of nature.

After the New Year, my father's work doesn't allow for long breaks, and even this annual leave is quite precious to him.

However, my father also enjoyed it. As their company's presence in the new energy market grew, my father moved to a more challenging position.

So Wu Shi came to the city alone, walked from Xunyang Road through the tree-lined avenue, and looked at the misty Gantang Lake.

He wasn't familiar with the city because his world consisted only of the countryside and Shenzhen; he had been living abroad since he was a little older.

But he knew the history of the city and its past, so walking around the city, which he had only visited a few times, gave him a feeling of wandering in his hometown.

Perhaps this is the charm of Chinese culture; born and educated here, one cannot help but be captivated by its romance.

During his trip, he did not encounter any surprises or photo opportunities with fans who recognized him.

In fact, the public is most familiar with his image in a Mercedes racing suit, so it's not easy to associate him with that image when he's dressed up a bit and wearing a down jacket.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month (February 14), Wu Shi returned to England, not even having time to wait for the Lantern Festival, because the winter survey was to begin on February 18.

So, just a few days after returning to his post, he went with the team to the Barcelona circuit in Spain for testing.

This year, there have been many changes to the F1 rules, the first being the tire compound.

Last year's rainbow tires were criticized for having too many different types, but the extreme formulas had almost no chance of being used, so this year the tires have been revised.

Pirelli will prepare five tire compounds, from C1 to C5.

C1 is the hardest, and C5 is the softest.

To differentiate between the C1 and C5 tires, which are the hardest and softest compounds respectively, during testing, no stripes will be painted on them.

When it comes to the official competition, only three recipes will be provided for each match.

These three formulas are distinguished as white (hard), yellow (neutral), and red (soft), and there will be no more miscellaneous colors like red, orange, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

This brings us back to the tire rule that Wu Shi knew best.

Arriving at the familiar Barcelona circuit, Wu Shi got ready and prepared to take the test.

After Jonathan helped Wu Shi fasten his seatbelt, he said:

"Our primary focus now is testing the powertrain, mainly to see how it performs."

“Oh, okay,” Wu Shi replied.

Mercedes won't perform exceptionally well in winter testing; he always likes to hide his crotch, and he's used to it.

On the contrary, Ferrari is incredibly good at winter testing every year, and has been dubbed the king of winter testing. But when it comes to the Grand Prix, well, let's not even talk about it.

Wu Shi drove onto the track, and the new car's overall power was more surging, but the airflow guidance of the car body was very poor.

Fortunately, Jonathan had given a prior warning, and Wu Shi mainly provided feedback on the powertrain and Pirelli's new tires.

In the first round of testing, the fastest was Renault's Hulkenberg.

During this period, each team was not only testing its own data, but also probing each other's situation to find out how they fared.

Because 2019 was another year of changes in aerodynamic regulations, the debut designs of each company were under close scrutiny.

Compared to last year, the front wing of this year's race car has been simplified, no longer having complex horizontal and vertical deflectors, but instead being entirely replaced by a horizontal plate structure.

The rear wing has also been raised and widened, mainly to reduce turbulence from following vehicles, making it easier for following vehicles to get close to the vehicle in front and increasing the chance of overtaking.

Ferrari's front wing design is particularly eye-catching, as it differs from mainstream design trends by featuring a higher center and flatter sides.

Wu Shi also noticed that his former team, Williams, did not come to the winter testing.

He went to talk to his former colleagues and found out that the drawings were delivered too late, which meant the manufacturer hadn't produced them yet, and the race car wasn't ready.

This surprised Wu Shi greatly. Was Williams' R&D and design management capabilities really that weak?
When he left, Williams had a pretty good R&D team.

Time flies, and on February 26th, the second round of testing began, still at the Barcelona circuit.

The brand-new W10 was brought out, and after admiring it up close for a moment, Wu Shi said to Jonathan:

"The previous one was so simple it looked like a toy car."

“Haha, a brand new design will be quickly imitated,” Jonathan laughed.

Wu Shi hurriedly got into the car, as he needed to familiarize himself with racing again.

Compared to the previous version, the new W10 flip-flops also feature an air-cushioned design, with a T-fin design appearing near the tail fin.

The side box end plates are no longer flat, but have various small air guide vanes.

Although Mercedes brought a new version, on the first afternoon of the second round of testing, a hydraulic failure forced Wu Shi and Hamilton to wait on the sidelines.

Only after the power unit was replaced did the two return to testing.

Ferrari, the king of winter testing, also encountered some problems—cooling system failure, Vettel hitting a foreign object and damaging the wheel hub, exhaust pipe failure, and electronic system failure.

A series of setbacks meant they had significantly less testing time than Mercedes.

However, Leclerc still managed to get the fastest lap time of 1 minute 16.231 seconds.

Williams frantically studied during the second test, but unfortunately, time was limited, and the time lost in the first test was hard to make up for.

The testing concluded on March 1st, and two weeks later, the opening race of the 2019 Formula 1 season will be held in Australia.

Each team finished their work and went home to make final preparations.

Back at the factory, Wu Shi noticed that the old man was acting strangely this year, not saying much, so he kept communicating with his team.

Without much thought, Wu Shi and his team began preparing for the Australian Grand Prix.

At the start of each season, he needs to be very restrained in controlling his emotions.

Two consecutive years of victory have, to some extent, affected my state of mind. How to deal with this state can only be solved through thought, not by reading a few words.

On March 14th, a message suddenly came:
Charlie Whiting has passed away.

This name is a heavyweight for anyone who follows F1!
He's the F1 race director! All the referees are his team.

This news was so sudden and unexpected, because on March 13, Whiting and some other drivers went to check on the Melbourne circuit.

This veteran race director has worked in the paddock for over forty years. He became the technical director of FISA in 1988 and participated in the controversial seasons of 1992, 93, and 94.

In 1997, he became the tournament director, a position he held until his death today.

Although Whiting also experienced some controversies during his tenure as tournament director—

For example, the near-fatal accident involving Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix was due to his failure to handle the situation properly in time.

However, he also made many contributions, such as promoting the implementation of virtual safety vehicles, multiple penalties, and the Halo system.

Many team leaders and drivers expressed their condolences.

However, for the FIA, the most important thing is to appoint a new tournament director as soon as possible.

Because the Australian Grand Prix on March 17th is just around the corner.

Ultimately, Australian Michael Massey was appointed as the tournament director for the event.

This director is probably more familiar to racing fans, as he was a key figure in the restart of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.

Because of him, F1 no longer has an eight-time world champion who broke records.

Practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix began on Friday, March 15.

二十位车手就位，倍耐力为本场大奖赛准备了C2、C3、C4三款配方轮胎。    一练汉密尔顿以1分23秒599拿到第一，二练吴轼又以1分22秒328拿到第一。

Seeing Mercedes' aggressive performance, everyone wondered if they had suddenly changed their ways and were now openly pulling out their pants instead of hiding them.
If you ask Wu Shi this question, his answer will also be affirmative.

Mercedes' new engine this year, coupled with its exceptional aerodynamic design, has generated excellent simulation data, giving Toto, Lauda, ​​and Allison the confidence to crush their rivals.

That's why the performance of the race car was not concealed at all during the first and second practice sessions.

On March 16th, the third training session began at 3 PM.

When Mercedes realized that Ferrari couldn't even match their lap times from the second practice session, they advised Wu Shi and Hamilton to tone it down a bit.

Therefore, Wu Shi stopped after completing the timed sections and setting a purple score, while Hamilton took first place with a time of 1 minute 22.292 seconds.

最接近梅奔两人的是法拉利，维特尔跑出了1分22秒556，勒克莱尔跑出了1分22秒749。

However, this level is far inferior to that of Mercedes-Benz.

"Isn't Ferrari's winter testing really impressive?"

Some people were puzzled after seeing this result.

They certainly didn't know that preseason testing was "pre-season testing" for Ferrari.

The qualifying races began at 5 p.m.

In Q1, Wu Shi was slightly behind, ranking third with a time of 1 minute 22.221 seconds.

Hamilton finished second with a time of 1 minute 22.043 seconds.

Leclerc finished first with a time of 1 minute 22.017 seconds.

As for Vettel? He doesn't seem to be in good form, finishing 11th with a time of 1 minute 22.885 seconds.

"The first-place finisher, Leclerc, only came to Ferrari from Sauber this year. He replaced Kimi and is the best driver in Ferrari's youth academy," Bingge introduced.

"A double GP3 and F2 champion, with a very solid foundation. The driver lineup has also changed quite a bit this year."

After Fei Ge finished speaking, he began to introduce the changes in the driver lineup.

On the track, Wu Shi returned to the pit lane and sat in his race car waiting for Q2.

"Open up the power and take it down as soon as possible," Jonathan said.

"it is good."

Wu Shi adjusted and turned the engine power knob.

Less than a ten-minute break later, Q2 began.

Because he was already quite familiar with the Melbourne circuit, Wu Shi took the lead after just one lap with a time of 1 minute 21.193 seconds.

Hamilton completed two flying laps, setting a time of 1 minute 21.014 seconds before returning to the pits.

"The tension between the two is getting a bit high!" the soldier remarked, observing Hamilton's actions.

Since the tires used for the fastest lap in Q2 will be used for the start of the race, it's best to save those tires if possible.

However, Hamilton actually used two sets of tires in order to win Q2.

"At the pre-match press conference, when asked how he planned to face Wu Shi this year, Hamilton said that this year's victory belonged to him," Haoran added.

"The tension was definitely high, but the gap between the two was quite large two years ago," the soldier said.

"Hamilton is always in better form in the second half of the year. If he continues like this year, he won't be able to compete with Wu Shi for the world championship," Fei Ge said.

In fact, if LeBron James had maintained his form throughout 2016, Rosberg's chances of winning the championship would have been quite slim.

But since this is a thing of the past, everyone has their own version of events, and there's no need to discuss it further.

Objectively speaking, Hamilton tends to make fewer mistakes in the second half of the season compared to his own past performances.

"Have you noticed that Mercedes has shown extraordinary speed in practice? They are indeed incredibly fast this year," Haoran said in a slightly feminine voice.

"Tsk tsk, Verstappen's lap time in third place is more than 0.5 seconds behind Wu Shi's. That's a huge gap!" Bing Ge nodded.

"This reminds me of the early years of hybrid engines. Will Mercedes be unbeatable again this year?" Fei said.

"See? Hahaha, you'll find out soon enough." The soldier was always smiling.

Soon, Q3 arrived as scheduled.

Hamilton appeared earlier, while Wu Shi appeared slightly later.

"Come on, let's see how Hamilton performs at full speed," the soldier said.

"The first section is purple!" Fei Ge exclaimed immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Hamilton, like a god descending to earth, finished the lap and immediately set a new lap time of 1 minute 20.598 seconds!

"My goodness! Mercedes has gone by so fast this year!"

"Look at Wu Shi! Oh dear! Why is there a green section? Did you make a mistake just now?"

"I didn't see any mistakes."

"That must mean they ran conservatively."

Swish!
As they were talking, Wu Shi crossed the finish line with a time of 1 minute 20.666 seconds.

"It seems Hamilton is in exceptional form this year!" the soldier exclaimed.

Wu Shi drove back to the P room, and when he heard that he had only received P2, he was not too surprised.

The driver knew he was slow, but he wasn't quite sure how much slower.

“There’s a problem with the connection between turns 6-9. Follow our simulated route,” Jonathan said.

The performance director has already calculated the result by combining the data from Wu Shi and the old man.

"it is good."

Wu Shi nodded. In fact, after just one round, he already knew where the problems were.

The characteristics of a new race car still need to be gradually discovered through extreme laps like these.

The main issue is that the final version of Mercedes-Benz was only brought out for the second round of testing, and the testing was delayed due to oil pressure problems, which means that he has not yet fully adapted to this newly designed powertrain.

Hamilton appeared later than Wu Shi this time.

With no other driver setting a time of 1 minute and 20 seconds, the battle for pole position could only be between the two Mercedes drivers, so everyone's attention naturally focused on them.

After reviewing all his problems, Wu Shi rushed back onto the starting straight, becoming incredibly sharp and aggressive.

Every little detail, every bend and turn, was in my mind, and the entire race car seemed like an extension of my body, easily pushing its limits.

Swish!
1 minutes 20 seconds 336!

Toto laughed when he saw it; Wu Shi never disappointed.

Meanwhile, Binotto, sitting next to the command wall, asked Martina beside him:

Did he violate any rules during this round?

Martina is now the sporting director at Ferrari, where she is responsible for sporting rules management and race communications management.

“No,” Martina said directly, giving Binotto a strange look.

Binotto fell silent, his face clouded with worry, a man with a technical background. "W10 is too fast!"

However, this is only the first race, so it doesn't matter yet. Besides, Mercedes might have qualified quickly but then faltered in the race.

While Binotto contemplated the possibility of a miracle, Hamilton crossed the finish line again, finishing with a time of 1 minute 20.486 seconds, more than 0.1 seconds slower than Wu Shi.

Compared to last year when the difference was often as much as 0.2 seconds, this gap is now considered small.

"Mercedes-Benz's leading position this year should remain unchanged," Fei Ge said.

"I heard they only brought out the complete W10 during the second round of winter testing?" the soldier asked.

"Well, Toto's explanation at the time was to verify two aerodynamic designs, but everyone outside said that the second one was the complete Mercedes-Benz W10," Haoran said.

Those who understand foreign languages ​​will naturally receive more information.

After driving back and hearing the number 1 sign, Wu Shi got out of the car with ease.

To his surprise, the old man, who had been silent all winter, actually came over and shook hands with him.

"You drove well! You're as fast as ever!" the old man said with a smile.

"Thank you! You're quite fast too," Wu Shi replied.

"Oh, the two seem to have a good relationship?" the soldier said with a smile.

"In the past few years, Wu Shi has been suppressing Hamilton, and there have been no explosive moments. Team infighting usually only occurs between drivers of similar skill levels."

"Of course, I didn't say Hamilton was bad, just that he was somewhat inferior to Wu Shi."

Haoran still spoke softly, always adding explanations for what he said.

Mercedes finished first and second in the qualifying standings, while Vettel finished third with a time of 1 minute 21.190 seconds.

The difference between him and Wu Shi was a full 0.86 seconds, almost a second.

The gap was so large that it shocked the entire paddock. At this rate, wouldn't Mercedes completely dominate the year?

Verstappen fourth, Leclerc fifth, Grosjean sixth, Magnussen seventh, Norris eighth, Kimi ninth, and Perez tenth.

"Hey, wait a minute, why is there only one Red Bull truck!" The soldier finally noticed the key point.

"Uh, Gasley was eliminated in Q1, ranking 17th," Haoran reminded him.

"The difference is too big! Both are Red Bull, but the first one is 4th and the other is 17th," the soldier exclaimed.

"It seems that Gasly only drove one lap because of his order of appearance, and the chassis he used seems to be different from Verstappen's," Haoran said.

"Hopefully, this gap is just because they haven't adapted yet, otherwise they'll be the next Kvyat!" the soldier said.

"Should we switch back to the Kvyat from Toro Rosso?" Fei Ge suddenly asked.

"Haha, if that's the case, you know what, Red Bull might actually do it," the soldier said.

"I think tomorrow's main race is a bit more exciting. Mercedes is so fast, will it lead to a more intense battle between Wu Shi and Hamilton?" Fei Ge said.

"That's possible," Haoran nodded.

If a team isn't in a commanding lead, then for the sake of the team's overall interests, they will generally try to prevent infighting among drivers and try to score as many points as possible.

However, the car is so fast that no other team can match it, so the teams may not be too aggressive when the drivers are fighting amongst themselves.

Hamilton was able to compete freely with Rosberg for so long because Mercedes was very fast in those years, and was not in the same league as other cars.

If the competition had been as fierce in 2017 or 2018, Ferrari might have ended up with nothing.

(End of this chapter)