F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 327 Four-Crown King

The last stop before the summer break was in Hungary.

Because it was a back-to-back race, the team's support staff had actually arrived in Hungary from Germany on Sunday.

After the race and the interviews, the drivers left in a hurry.

In the 13th race of the season, Wu Shi leads Hamilton by 58 points at the top of the leaderboard.

Verstappen overtook Ferrari and moved into third place in the standings.

Vettel is in fourth place, 22 points ahead of Leclerc, and seems to face the possibility of being defeated by his younger teammates in his first year.

Mercedes continues to lead the standings, while Ferrari and Red Bull are vying for second place.

Without the heavy rain disrupting the race, there were fewer variables in the race at the Hungaroring circuit.

Wu Shi secured pole position with a 0.07-second lead over Verstappen, while Hamilton started in third place, 0.11 seconds behind Verstappen.

Clearly, after half a season of optimization, the Red Bull RB15's performance seems to have caught up.

It's hard to say whether it was the Red Bull team that caught up or Verstappen alone.

Gasly started in 6th place, two Ferraris behind him, and his qualifying gap with Verstappen was an astonishing 0.878 seconds!
One F1 commentator said that Verstappen this year is like Wu Shi in 2015, with his personal ability completely overshadowing the level of the car itself.

However, some countered that Wu Shi was partnered with Massa, and even if Massa was in decline, Gasly, who had just arrived in F1, was not someone that Gasly could easily provoke.

Verstappen is optimistic about the car's performance and believes he will have a chance to catch up with Hamilton and finish second in the standings.

Therefore, when the race started, Verstappen's main goal was not to overtake Wu Shi on this difficult track, but to stop Hamilton.

In fact, Verstappen did just that in the first stint, firmly leaving Hamilton two seconds behind.

However, on lap 25, when Verstappen indicated that the performance of the medium tires was beginning to decline significantly, Red Bull opted for the first pit stop.

Wu Shi had established a lead of more than 7 seconds, so Mercedes was not worried about being undercut.

The strategy team is more focused on Hamilton's situation.

On lap 30, Wu Shi pitted, but when he came out, he was still more than a second ahead of Verstappen.

The team had carefully calculated this tire-changing window.

As soon as he came out, Wu Shi faced a fierce attack from Verstappen, but after only two turns, Verstappen gave up on continuing the fight.

His main task at present is to hold onto second place. If he attacks Wu Shi, it may cause his tires to not work to their expected lifespan.

Wu Shi maintained his lead, while Hamilton pitted on the next lap.

When the veteran returned to the track, he was still in third place, just 5 seconds behind Verstappen.

However, the old man seemed to have regained his speed and began to frantically close in on Verstappen.

They made up for a total of 4 seconds on laps 33 and 34!

Just as Verstappen was about to be unable to stop Hamilton, Ricciardo, who had been lapped, gave Verstappen a DRS.

Panzi used this DRS to complete his final defensive play, and the old man also went too far on offense, thus losing the opportunity to overtake Verstappen.

I thought the match would end normally, just like Monaco's.

But on lap 48, Hamilton suddenly received a pit stop instruction.

"Why are we pitting? My tires are in good condition," Hamilton asked.

But he had no choice but to obey the team's instructions, so the old man had to pit and change to medium tires.

He came out 20 seconds behind Verstappen.

Red Bull didn't quite understand Mercedes' maneuver either, but that's okay, Verstappen will have no problem maintaining his position.

The old man didn't know why the team needed to change the tires, but once back on the track, he still demonstrated exceptional skill.

He began chasing Verstappen at a speed of almost one second per lap.

On lap 66, he caught up with Verstappen and closed the gap to within 1 second.

Verstappen's hard tires had already completed 41 laps and were completely exhausted.

In addition, his long-distance performance was inferior to Mercedes', so he had almost no chance to resist and was easily overtaken by Mercedes.

In an effort to salvage their losses, Red Bull pitted Verstappen for tires, who then set the fastest lap of the race on lap 69, securing a point.

Mercedes' brilliant strategy brought the final race before the summer break to a perfect close.

In a post-race interview, Hamilton also expressed his incomprehension of the team's actions, stating that he did not believe he could recover the 20-second deficit.

In the end, it was achieved.

However, he still said:

"This was a great tactical maneuver for the team, but for me it was just a delay in letting Wu Shi pull away completely."

Facing the camera, Hamilton's frustration was palpable. He concluded by saying:
“I tried many methods, but it was too difficult. I don’t want to say I gave up, I just couldn’t understand his driving style.”

"It's impossible for any driver to replicate every lap of his; he pushed the car to its limits."

"If I want to catch up with him, I have to be in my best condition and at my fastest speed in every qualifying session, otherwise I won't have a chance."

The Times of London included this statement in its news report, subtly implying that "Wu Shi may have gotten a special Mercedes-Benz."

Wu Shi was already used to such criticism, and he didn't even respond.

With the summer vacation approaching, he can finally get some rest.

The increasing number of competitions is indeed mentally exhausting, mainly because of the constant travel around the world, with a lot of time wasted on the road.

However, not all drivers are able to have a good summer vacation.

On the night the German Grand Prix ended, Marko and Horner promised Gasly that he would finish the entire season with Red Bull, regardless of his performance.

Then, in the early hours of August 12th, Marco made a phone call to Gasly and told him:

"You have been relegated to Toro Rosso, and your place will be taken by Alexander Albon."

Red Bull's explanation was that Gasly was competing with McLaren, Renault, and Arroyo for the first half of the season, and was at a disadvantage in the competition.

With Verstappen scoring 166 points, he only managed a paltry 54.

If he can keep up with Verstappen's pace, Red Bull will easily beat Ferrari and finish second in the constructors' championship.

What could Gasly say? He could only accept the transfer.

Albon was thrilled to be promoted to Red Bull, as he hadn't expected to reach a top team after only half a season.

While excited, he still had some worries:
"This promotion may be premature, but it is an opportunity, and I should not doubt myself."

“I have to go there with confidence. I know my worth, even though I only drove an F1 car for the first time six months ago.”

With the No. 2 driver confirmed, Red Bull unsurprisingly announced that Verstappen will continue to race for Red Bull in 2020.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz had already announced that Wu Shi would continue to play for Mercedes-Benz in 2020.

This official announcement did not cause any stir, since everyone knew that the two parties had signed a long-term contract at the time.

The media interpreted this action as "Mercedes showing off that they have the best drivers and telling the other teams not to get involved."

Meanwhile, Ocon, who was waiting for his chance at Mercedes, was transferred to Renault by Toto, who kept his word.

Renault, being from France, was naturally willing to accept a Frenchman.

Although Ricardo's contract is not yet finalized, Renault believes that as long as Ricardo does not refuse, he will still stay with the team.

So it's highly likely that Hulkenberg will be the one to leave in the end.

In fact, Hulkenberg's performance was quite good, and the team engineers also gave him very high praise.

However, some members of the team bluntly stated:

"Hulkenberg is an unlucky driver who is frequently involved in his own irresponsible accidents or technical problems."

Now 32 years old, Hodgson has participated in 168 Grand Prix races, yet he is still chasing his place on the podium.

Renault team principal Cyril Abitepol is still upset about his mistake of hitting the wall at the German Grand Prix.

This seems to represent a certain attitude from Renault.

Hulkenberg's abilities are quite good in the paddock, so Horner said he might consider recruiting him to Red Bull next year.

Verstappen, who was vacationing with Wu Shi, was also happy to join in, saying he was very willing to accept Nico as a good teammate.

Meanwhile, Match Point also confirmed that they will sign Perez to a three-year contract.

As for the other seat, no one would think that old Storr would fire his own son, would they?
At the end of their vacation, Wu Shi and Louise returned to Italie from the resort.

On the way, when talking about Verstappen, she told Wu Shi that her main impression of Verstappen was that he often changed girlfriends, and that he brought different people with him every time he went out.

Wu Shi was both amused and exasperated. Once he found out that Verstappen would be dating Kvyat's current girlfriend in the future, there would be even more gossip to tell him.

After the summer break, the intense competition schedule immediately began to take its toll on everyone.

Mercedes arrived in Belgium with a huge advantage, only to be dealt a crushing blow by Ferrari!
Ferrari seemed to have suddenly acquired some advanced technology; Leclerc's qualifying time was 0.5 seconds faster than Wu Shi's!
If Vettel hadn't been 0.76 seconds behind Leclerc, Mercedes might not have been seen in the front row at all.

Mercedes is naturally pondering what exactly happened in response to Ferrari's resurgence.

However, these were not the main issues discussed on Saturday, because a tragedy occurred today.

F2 driver Anthony Hubert suffered a serious accident during F2 qualifying.

His car was hit head-on by Juan Manuel Correa and cut in half as it returned to the track.

Anthony Hubert was pronounced dead an hour after the major accident.

France has lost another excellent driver, and Gasly is very sad because he grew up with this driver when he was 7 years old.

On Sunday's race, the paddock crowd, dressed in black crepes, observed a minute's silence in remembrance of the young driver.

Ricardo was most saddened because Anthony Hubert, as a Renault youth player, had been in frequent contact with him this year.

Ricardo even considered whether to participate in today's match.

Under a cloud of sadness, the 13th race of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix, began.

Leclerc got off to a good start, and Wu Shi followed up, squeezing into his paint without hesitation.

Leclerc did not attempt a dramatic dodge, but Wu Shi still managed to find an opening on the corner during a difficult defensive maneuver, using his superior traction control to overtake him.

Behind him, Hamilton used almost the same rhythm to push Vettel off the track and take his position.

However, the old man squeezed too hard, which was a serious violation, so he returned to his position on the track.

The two Mercedes cars were like two tigers, driving the Ferraris around like wild horses.

However, the equally fierce Verstappen lost control and collided head-on with Kimi, resulting in both of them having to retire from the match.

The subsequent appearance of a safety car stabilized the rankings.

In the first Stint, Wu Shi must face Leclerc's relentless pursuit.

His tires wore out very quickly, and Lock & Lock's straight-line speed surprised him, but he managed to hold his position.

When Ferrari switched to medium tires for the second stint, their advantage disappeared, and Wu Shi no longer needed to defend.

Hamilton also took advantage of the neutral tires to overtake Vettel again.

Unfortunately, at the end of the match, he was still blocked by Locke, with a difference of only 0.6 seconds between the two.

Of course, in the end, Leclerc blamed himself on camera, believing that his mistake on the first corner led to Wu Shi's overtaking.

Four-time champion Vettel, however, was less self-critical, saying that the tire problem caused him to lose everything.

Albion finished fifth in his first game with Red Bull, making up for Verstappen's withdrawal and demonstrating a level of performance that Gasly could not reach.

The Belgian Grand Prix is ​​followed by the Italie Grand Prix, which comes back-to-back.

The team had no chance to rest and worked non-stop.

The drivers are also having a tough time. After finishing the race on Sunday, they only have time to rest before heading to Italie to participate in the tuning process.

There are press conferences and various business events on Wednesday and Thursday, and I also need to familiarize myself with the track conditions.

By Friday, Wu Shi felt he hadn't had a proper rest since returning from his summer vacation.

However, during practice, heavy rain caused Kimi, Perez, and Gasly to crash three times, triggering three red flags and eliminating all practice time for the team.

The same thing happened during the second training session in the afternoon; a shower disrupted the plans.

Leclerc achieved the fastest time, and Ferrari's engine seemed to have been effectively upgraded, bringing a surge of power that made Mercedes extremely troublesome.

At noon on Saturday, the third practice session began, and Wu Shi and Hamilton were both looking for ways to deal with Ferrari's high-speed engine.

However, the final result was not ideal.

What happened during the afternoon qualifying matches was even more bizarre.

In Q3, Wu Shi finished second, 0.006 seconds behind Leclerc in the first flying lap.

His timing for leaving the station was very poor, and he was blocked, resulting in an unsatisfactory performance.

"When do I go out?" Wu Shi asked Jonathan.

“There are no cars on the track right now. We’re trailing behind some people, and without the wake, we’ll be much slower,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi scratched his itchy nose and waited patiently.

During this wait, none of the ten vehicles moved.

Time ticked by, and with only two minutes left in Q3, Renault finally made a move, letting Ricciardo and Hulkenberg pass.

As soon as they moved, all the convoys behind them started moving as well.

Immediately, the fast lane in the maintenance area was blocked.

However, once they arrived at the track, the two Renaults blocked the entire track.

"How much time do we have?"

Wu Shi asked anxiously, recalling that there were less than 1 minute and 40 seconds left when he came out.

"1 minutes 30 seconds."

"WHAT?"

Wu Shi questioned, "How could it be possible to complete the warm-up lap in such a short time?"

“We should move forward,” he said.

"No, the ones in front are Renault and Ferrari. If you go out, you'll create a wake for them."

Jonathan continued, "Of course, Renault is blocking the entire track now, so you can't get through."

Wu Shi looked ahead and saw that Mercedes-Benz had released its car late, so it was stuck in seventh place.

He took a deep breath and could only suppress his impulse.

So a comical scene unfolded on the track: the ten Q3 cars seemed to be running alongside the safety car, with none of them accelerating first, and they were stuck together.

“Calm down, we expect we should have enough time,” Jonathan continued.

“If we don’t speed things up, we won’t have enough time,” Wu Shi said.

At that moment, Ferrari's TR sounded: "Charles, we have ten seconds to spare."

By this time, the two Renaults had moved aside, and the Ferrari was leading the way.

That's why Mercedes is even more hesitant to let the two drivers start speed laps.

“I need to know the time,” Wu Shi said in TR.

"Yeah, I'll tell you the remaining time, 50 seconds."

"40 seconds."

As Jonathan's regular announcements rang in Wu Shi's ears, his heart was already racing after he had determined his position on the track.

There are still 5 cars blocking the way ahead. Because no one is pushing hard, some cars are on the race line and some are not.

In short, the track was incredibly congested.

Suddenly, without any instructions, Wu Shi forcibly began to accelerate.

He drove straight along the outer white line, speeding all the way to Turn 11.

The two Ferraris in front of him were still blocking the way, seemingly preparing him to become a slipstream driver.

Turn 11, Wu Shi turned around.

“5,” Jonathan said.

'It's over, we're not going to make it.'

Wu Shi took a deep breath and then released the accelerator.

Sure enough, when the two green indicator lights turned into five red lights, only Sainz and Leclerc, who were at the front of the line, successfully passed through.

“We messed up,” Wu Shi said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Jonathan said.

Q3 stopped the clock, and only two out of ten cars made it to the second flying lap.

Even Vettel was outmaneuvered, as Leclerc overtook and blocked him at the last moment, successfully causing him to lose his chance.

"That's so bizarre!" the soldier exclaimed, shaking his head.

"They brought this on themselves!" Haoran was also shocked and found it absurd.

"A team of thousands of people, with an annual investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, and they still made this kind of mistake?!"

“Someone absolutely has to be punished. Renault completely blocked everyone at the beginning,” Fei Ge said.

Regardless, this qualifying round has come to an end.

Leclerc was thrilled, although he was later criticized for "stealing a pole position in a despicable way."

After qualifying, all the teams immediately filed appeals, strongly protesting the farcical result.

The four judges of the Grand Prix immediately began to discuss the matter.

They first summoned Nico Hulkenberg to a small room and questioned him about why he slowed down so much on the second lap of Q3!

Hulkenberg explained that he slowed down because he was looking in the rearview mirror.

Storr and Sainz were then taken into a small room for questioning.

These three drivers were among the first to get on the track and caused congestion throughout the track, so the judges believed that they slowed down the entire race.

But in the end, no punishment was imposed.

The referee explained that it could not be proven that they deliberately slowed down to gain an advantage.

Meanwhile, the track was wide enough that drivers behind, such as Mercedes, did not take any initiative to break the deadlock, so it was not considered a violation.

However, Massey stated that rules would be introduced to prevent the deliberate slowing down in order to gain slipstream from happening in qualifying.

Wu Shi was quite calm, because Ferrari's new engine was too fast on this track.

If they were given the slipstream, even he wouldn't be able to take pole position.

Of course, the most important thing is that he miscalculated the time at the last moment.

He should have taken into account that the other riders would also speed up as they entered the final section.

When the race started the next day, Wu Shi's old method was used in reverse by Leclerc, so he failed to gain position. Subsequently, the Ferrari inexplicably pulled him out of the 1-second DRS zone in just one lap.

It's no wonder they're Ferrari; they only have one race a year, which explains their impressive performance.

Finally, Locke completed his first PTW (Pole-to-Whole) in his career, successfully converting it into a pole position.

The Iron Buddha Temple at the scene erupted in cheers as car enthusiasts celebrated wildly.

Leclerc, with tears of emotion in his eyes, said:

"In the last two laps, I knew Wu Shi wouldn't catch up with me."

"My tires were still fine. So I looked down at the stands and saw that there was starting to be a commotion."

"I started thinking about what this victory meant, so I told myself, 'Charles, look at the track in front of you! Stop turning your head, stay focused.'"

"I'm so happy that I finally won the game!"
“I still remember that distant day when Jules (Bianchi) took me to Maranello to do a TV report and wanted me to go in, but I wasn’t allowed to go in.”

Locke recalls that now that his dream of owning Ferrari has come true, he seems to be on the road to reviving Ferrari.

He'll do what the four-time champions couldn't do!
Leclerc turned around and saw Wu Shi talking to Hamilton about Q3, and went up to hug him.

While Lock & Lock was enjoying the praise of fans, Vettel was enduring immense pressure and pain.

He not only slipped, but he slid past Storr at a speed of 200 kph.

If a collision occurs, the consequences will be extremely dire.

Vettel was well aware that he had made another mistake and readily admitted it.

But surprisingly, Vettel was not invited to the Ferrari victory party and group photo that evening.
Only after the photos were released did people notice the issue, and Ferrari stated that they had forgotten about it.

Clearly, someone within the Ferrari team is consciously or unconsciously pushing things to happen.

Compared to these issues, Ferrari's real headache is that the three engine suppliers—Red Bull-Honda, Mercedes, and Renault—all believe that the SF90's new engine is suspected of being cheated.

Red Bull directly points out that Ferrari has a 54-horsepower lead, and you have absolutely no idea where that power comes from.

This extra horsepower only appeared during qualifying.

Also, in the first lap of today's race, Leclerc outpaced Wu Shi on the straight!
This absolutely proves that there are problems with Ferrari's new engine after the summer break.

However, the FIA ​​inspected the vehicle and found no problems.

This debate reached its conclusion in Singapore.

Ferrari easily took the lead at the start thanks to its powerful engine and low-speed cornering advantage, and effortlessly finished first and second!
Everyone exclaimed that the world was about to change!
The driver's world championship position may be secure, but what about the team's world championship position?

However, Ferrari has encountered problems again.

Leclerc started from pole position, but Vettel pitted before the leader in the race.

By the time Leclerc came out of the pit again, he had already been undercut by his teammates.

Leclerc was clearly quite unhappy about the incident, while Vettel seemed quite pleased standing on the podium.

After the race, Leclerc was called into the Ferrari touring car by Binotto and didn't come out until an hour later.

Leclerc then announced to the public:

"The recall of Sebastian before me was for the benefit of the team."

"I was very disappointed at first, but I woke up after I got off the car and realized that I could have done better in the race."

When Wu Shi heard Lock & Lock's interview, he wanted to laugh but was afraid of hurting Lock & Lock even more. This is the team manipulating you!

Verstappen saw Lock & Lock and immediately said:

“I’ll argue with the team. It’s not fair. Are they punishing you for what happened in Italli qualifying?”

Wu Shi patted Pan Zi on the shoulder and said, "You have a father who's always ready to argue with anyone, but Lock & Lock doesn't."

Even with Nicolas Todt's help, Lock & Lock going head-to-head with Ferrari is clearly not a good thing.

Ferrari continued to use their incredibly fast engine from qualifying to take pole position again at the Sochi circuit.

But when it came to the main race, Ferrari started pulling out all the stops!

Ferrari privately asked Leclerc to slip the tail of Vettel, who was in third place, in order to counter Wu Shi, who was in second place.

Lock & Lock did just that; facing the Ferrari's incredibly fast straight-line speed, Wu Shi had absolutely no way to keep up.

However, Vettel used this slipstream to not only overtake Wu Shi, but also Leclerc!
The team immediately asked Vettel to change positions.

But Vettel ignored it.

As a result, Ferrari began to make its own adjustments, first recalling Leclerc to the pits for tire changes.

Then they blatantly undercut Vettel!
As a result, Vettel's MGU-K broke down as soon as he left the pits, forcing him to retire from the race.

After Vettel's malfunction triggered the safety car, Wu Shi and Hamilton took the opportunity to enter the pits and were still in front of Lock & Lock when they came out!
Ferrari pulled off a series of maneuvers, successfully shifting their first and second place rankings to Mercedes.

Wu Shi was quite surprised when interviewed and said:

"Since the summer break, we have been far slower than Ferrari, both in qualifying and in the race."

"But I don't know how they ruined their own race. I was really surprised to be in the lead when I left the station."

"As for Ferrari, they didn't assign a number one and number two driver, which forced them to make extra management and adjustments, ultimately leading to their failure."

"But I don't think that's the problem. Mercedes doesn't have a number one or number two driver either, but we won't have their problems."

The reporter nodded repeatedly as he listened, then asked, "Why don't you have any problems?"

“Obviously, if one person is much faster, the other person has no way to ask the team to support him,” Wu Shi said with a smile.

Subsequently, The Times published a news article titled: Wu Shi – The Arrogant Three-Time World Champion.

Regardless of how these media outlets evaluate him, Wu Shi has already won his fourth world championship.

In the 17th race, the Japanese Grand Prix, there were some changes due to the typhoon, but Wu Shi still managed to snatch the victory from Vettel with his extremely strong consistency.

Ferrari has faster cars, but lacks the matching stability and strategy.

In the 18th race, the Mexican Grand Prix, despite some problems, Wu Shi still finished third.

Verstappen, who could have dethroned Wu Shi from the podium, was penalized and relegated to behind Wu Shi because he sped under the yellow flag during qualifying.

The 19th race, the U.S. Grand Prix.

Before the race even started, a huge debate erupted again in the paddock over Ferrari's alleged cheat engine.

It's worth noting that since the summer break, Ferrari has dominated pole positions in all six Grand Prix races!
Red Bull demands that the FIA ​​immediately launch a new investigation!

Mercedes immediately supported Red Bull's suggestion.

Toto directly called Ferrari's "V6" engine power "crazy," and said:
"I would rather not comment on doubts."

"But when you look at their power curves, it's incredible how an engine can stand out like this."

"Let's wait and see what happens. The FIA ​​needs to clarify this."

In response to the accusations, Binotto refuted them as rumors!

And she said, feeling wronged:
"In the past, when others had a huge advantage in powertrains, our only response at Ferrari was to work harder; we never accused them of cheating."

"I think the other teams are currently faster than us in the corners, and we won't accuse them of cheating in the corners!"

On Saturday, FIA Technical Director Nicolas Tombazzis released a technical statement.

All fleets are reminded that no fuel flow may be bypassed by electronic sensors; all fuel injected into the power unit must be monitored!
It's unclear whether this is a subtle reference to Ferrari.

Regardless, at the U.S. Grand Prix, Wu Shi flew a lap around the stars and successfully broke Ferrari's connecting rod!
When the pole position fell to Wu Shi, the result was self-evident.

Although the veteran driver, who started in the middle of the pack, took the lead once by using a one-stop strategy, Wu Shi overtook him after his second stop using the new neutral tires.

Verstappen is third.

Leclerc is fourth.

After the race, Binotto had to speak up for Ferrari.

Because Vettel's suspension malfunctioned for no apparent reason, Leclerc's car was also unable to get the first two sets of tires working.

He attributed it to a lack of tuning and stability.

However, everyone noticed that the Ferrari, which used to be so powerful, couldn't run in Austin.

Verstappen was even more direct, stating in the interview:

"According to the statement released by the FIA, Ferrari has adjusted their controversial injection system, which is what happens when they stop cheating!"

Clearly, Pan Zi was very happy to surpass Leclerc and take third place.

Binotto maintains that there's no need to discuss these things; they simply made a compromise adjustment between cornering grip and top speed.

In short, Ferrari's engine seems to have stalled.

However, when Wu Shi was asked this question in a post-race interview, he dealt Ferrari a fatal blow:
"Even though they took all the pole positions, they still gave us most of the victories. They were so humble and kind."

"Perhaps Ferrari now believes that pole position is everything in the race, and the race is just an extra part of qualifying."

Faced with the four-time champion's taunts, Binotto remained silent, only instructing Martina to contact Wu Shi and tell him to stop stirring things up!
In the penultimate race in Brazil, Wu Shi started from the second row and got involved in the chaotic collision caused by Hamilton, eventually retiring from the race.

After the race, Hamilton was called off the podium for his behavior and was penalized with a 5-second timeout, ultimately finishing only seventh.

Of course, the worst off wasn't Mercedes, but Ferrari.

The Ferraris collided and pushed each other twice, pushing Ferrari's antics this season to their peak.

Compared to Wu Shi, who has already won four championships and whose competition with Hamilton is insignificant, the battle between the two Ferrari drivers is obviously more eye-catching.

Bihai immediately banned the two drivers from giving interviews and dispatched security personnel to ensure that reporters would not break in!
The battle between Vettel and Leclerc has finally erupted into full force!

This controversy had far-reaching consequences, with Italian newspapers searching everywhere for the cause, and most supporting Leclerc.

Elkann was furious when he learned of this, and both drivers were summoned to Maranello to explain the situation.

Meanwhile, as the 2019 season came to a close, the driver market also began to fluctuate dramatically.

First, there's Hamilton. Although Mercedes has confirmed that he will continue to be a driver in 2020, there's still no word on a contract extension for 2021.

Whether it was to gain leverage in negotiations with Toto or for some other reason, the old man claimed that he did indeed meet with Ferrari's envoy in the fall.

The Milan sports newspaper even said that the old man and Elkann had already met.

Binotto has also been working tirelessly to push things forward, expressing his "pleasure" at Hamilton's entry into the transfer market.

Secondly, there's Bottas, the driver who suffered greatly at Williams and wants to leave the team.

Throughout 2019, Williams was the only team that did not score any points!

Unlike Russell, Bottas is older and can't afford to stay in this cage. He has long been looking for other teams to join.

Williams accepted this situation readily, as Sir Williams still wanted to own the team, so for financial reasons, they decided to make Nicolas Latifi the driver.

Clearly, Williams is eyeing Latifi's father, a Canadian billionaire.

Ultimately, Hulkenberg had nowhere else to go and would have to temporarily leave the F1 circuit.

He still holds an F1 record for the most Grand Prix appearances without ever reaching the podium.

On December 1st, two days before Wu Shi's birthday, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix came to a close.

Although Wu Shi did not stand on the podium, he was still the person most qualified to draw a donut on the track.

Amidst the dazzling fireworks, he won his fourth World Drivers' Championship, becoming the youngest four-time champion.

His name will be listed alongside Vettel and Prost in F1 history.

The joy of victory wasn't so exciting because it was an outcome we already knew.

Throughout the season, Wu Shi scored a total of 429 points, surpassing his 427 points in the 2017 season.

In 21 races, he won 12 races, stood on the podium 18 times, and had 9 fastest laps.

Mercedes also experienced its most glorious year, winning its 6th Constructors' Championship.

He earned 778 points throughout the year, won 16 races, and brought home first and second place nine times!
After the race, many drivers from the paddock came to celebrate.

Vettel, also a four-time champion, embraced him and wished him well.
"Your future will far surpass mine. Congratulations on becoming the youngest four-time world champion. This is a record that will never be broken."

Hamilton also came to congratulate them. To outsiders, the rivalry between the two did not seem intense, but in fact, it was only because of the apparent gap that had widened.

In fact, the two had extremely dangerous fights both in the team and on the track.

It was only because both of them wanted to maintain a semblance of dignity that they didn't end up like the old man and the princess, who fought to the point of never speaking to each other again.

"I admit it, I lost again, the four-time champion."

Hamilton hugged Wu Shi and patted him on the back.

His mood was lower than ever before, but no more sorrowful than at other times.

Verstappen came over, gave a thumbs-up, and, still with that cheerful, goofy look, told Wu Shi:
"See? I stole three of your race titles this year. Next year we will be even more competitive. I'm waiting for the day I take the world championship from you."

"Hahaha! I would welcome you to join us, but next year, our race car should also be very competitive." Wu Shi laughed heartily.

"If next year doesn't work, then 2021 will! The rules will be completely changed, and everyone will have to start from scratch."

Verstappen punched Wu Shi twice hard.

Leclerc also came over and said:
"I've only been in F1 for two years, and you're already a four-time champion, hahaha, congratulations!"

This year, Lecco finally joined Ferrari and performed exceptionally well. Although he was caught in fierce competition with Vettel, he still highly approves of this season.

Of course, his outstanding lap performance was also recognized by the paddock, and everyone believed that Lockheed Martin was only missing a championship-contending car.

The busy 2019 season has finally come to an end.

The image of Wu Shi holding up four fingers and showing them to the camera became headline news in various countries.

Miracles continue to happen to this young man. His youth has everyone wondering how many more championships he will win.
Of course, the championship is not won solely because of the drivers' superior skills, so it's hard to say for sure. All we know is that the dominance of the races in recent years has been quite boring.

More than watching the races, people were watching the infighting among the teams and the internal strife within Ferrari during the second half of the season.

Wu Shi celebrated his 21st birthday while conducting tire testing in Abu Dhabi.

Pirelli had a tire-shaped cake prepared, and the team celebrated together.

After a period of joy and harmony, the winter holiday finally arrived.

At the end of the year, Wu Shi returned to Italie, where he was interviewed by the Milan Sports Daily, La Repubblica, and Il Giornale.

He did not refuse these interviews. As the most decorated active driver in the paddock, he naturally wanted to be in the spotlight more often.
-
On Christmas Day, Wu Shi drove his car home after buying some items.

As soon as the door opened, Louise jumped out.

"Ta-da! Merry Christmas!"

bang~
Louise, wearing a Santa hat, fired a small salute!
Wu Shi was startled by the sudden face-slapping gesture, and after putting down his things, he immediately pulled Louise over and pinched her cheek.

"I was almost scared to death!"

"Aww, I'll give you a surprise!" Louise sobbed.

"Haha, you two still have such a good relationship. But Louise, you're all grown up now, you need to act more mature!" Martina said, busy in the kitchen.

"Hmph, maturity is for outsiders."

Louise broke free from Wu Shi's grasp, took a Santa hat, stood on her tiptoes, and put it on Wu Shi's head, even straightening it slightly.

"It looks great!"

Then, she took out the items she had bought one by one and began decorating the house.

Wu Shi also pulled out the light strip.

When Louise went to the bedroom, Martina came over and asked:

Are you going home for Chinese New Year this year?

"We'll see. Dad's too busy; he'll only be home for two or three days," Wu Shi said.

"He's still the same as always," Martina said with a chuckle and shook her head.

Wu Shi laughed too, "Isn't Auntie different from him?"

"Hmm?" Martina glanced at Wu Shi with a half-smile.

"Haha, no, no, Auntie is different. Auntie comes to see me every day when she has time," Wu Shi joked.

"Can you not see each other all the time while working in a motorcade?"

Martina was speechless, but after thinking for a moment, she said:

"I really don't spend enough time with Louise these days."

"You can't have your cake and eat it too." Wu Shi also looked towards the bedroom and said:
"Liberty Media has prepared 22 Grand Prix events for next year, and in a few years they might all be back-to-back races."

Wu Shi casually remarked that no matter how many matches the Liberty Media prepares, they won't be able to run many next year.

Louise came out of the room, saw the two talking, and approached them:
"What are you whispering about behind my back! Today is your day off, no work-related discussions allowed!"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about work. Let's talk about where to go for fun this winter."

Martina affectionately ruffled Louise's hair, even though the two were almost the same height.

“Yes, I’m fine with going anywhere, as long as I go with you guys,” Louise said happily.

Clearly, the reunion of the three of them made her very excited.

At the dinner table, Louise and Martine continued discussing where they wanted to go.

As Wu Shi listened, he began planning his road trip route.

"Why don't we get a motorhome? That would make it easier to go out and have fun," he said.

"Yes, that's great!" Louise agreed without even thinking.

Martina readily agreed, laughing and saying, "It's up to you. You're the richest person in this house now!"

"hey-hey."

Wu Shi laughed. An income of forty or fifty million euros is indeed that of a very wealthy person.

After dinner, Louise led Wu Shi through the Christmas traditions again.

This is also an essential part of the program every year.

The three then watched TV and played board games until midnight before preparing to rest.

Back in the bedroom, Wu Shi pulled Louise aside and asked, "Is your studies difficult?"

The atmosphere in the room became romantic. Louise lay down on the bed and shook her head: "It's difficult, but I can learn it."

As he spoke, he reached out and unbuttoned his shirt.

Seeing a blush rise on Louise's pale face, Wu Shi lowered his head and gently kissed her.

Louise hugged herself back and closed her eyes.

Snowflakes fell from the dark night sky outside the window, while the faint glow inside acted as a barrier, keeping out the cold.

A warm and cozy atmosphere enveloped the small house, and the intertwined figures resembled silk scarves entwined.

Until the night was deep and quiet, they embraced and fell asleep peacefully.

(End of this chapter)