F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 329 A Year of Unparalleled Success

When Wu Shi arrived in Austria, everyone was wearing a mask.

Due to the pandemic, reporters will not be able to interview drivers up close, and everyone will be required to keep a distance of more than two meters during press conferences.

Of course, in Europe and America, there are always some people who hold an arrogant attitude towards the virus, and many people still do not wear masks.

Marco, Horner, and Vettel were all singled out as examples and then reprimanded.

Similar to the mask restrictions, Hamilton emphasized anti-racism in the paddock.

Wu Shi supported Lewis's actions on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, as requested by the team.

However, Lewis was not satisfied and criticized those drivers who did not support this correct action.

Actually, Panzi, Locke, Sainz, Kimi, Kvyat, and Giovanni don't really care about Hamilton.

Many in the paddock also believe that Hamilton's actions were aimed at seizing political power in the paddock.

Some even say he's paving the way for a move into paddock management after retiring.

In short, Wu Shi's attitude toward these matters was that he did not want to get too involved; he was not there to promote his values.

After a long and arduous wait, the practice match on Friday, July 3rd, finally arrived.

Allison has adjusted the DAS system for Wu Shi based on the feedback provided.

"How much faster do you think this would actually be?" Allison asked.

"0.2 seconds?"

Although Wu Shi has tried it on the simulator, he has not tried it in actual use, so he does not dare to give any definitive data.

“You haven’t reached this level on the simulator,” Allison chuckled.

"All I can promise is that it will be faster."

Wu Shi was very confident, after all, there was too little information on the simulator, and many parameters were not based on actual data and were not real.

"Then the practice match will depend on your performance," Allison said before leaving.

After talking with Jonathan for a while, Wu Shi put on his racing suit, entered W11, and drove onto the track.

He began conducting various data tests according to the team's requirements, and then repeatedly returned to the team for adjustments.

经过45圈测试，他将圈速带到了1分04秒3，比汉密尔顿快0.5秒。

Even though he was some distance from Wu Shi, Hamilton's lap time was still the fastest outside of Mercedes!
Verstappen was 0.6 seconds behind him, coming incredibly close.

Mercedes' speed this year has shocked all the teams in the paddock, and Horner immediately reiterated that the DAS system is illegal!

However, this thing has already been defined; it can be used this year, but it will be banned next year.

Compared to Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari is somewhat disappointing.

It's worth noting that at the beginning of the year, they turned their preseason testing into a "post-season" test—

It was the only team in the paddock whose winter test speed was slower than the year before.

Leclerc is ranked tenth, and Vettel is ranked twelfth.

However, Ferrari wasn't too discouraged; it was only the first practice session.

On camera, Binotto said quite naturally:

“We are still looking for the right direction. We are not slow, but we need time to realize our potential.”

I don't know how much of what he says is believable.

The second practice session in the afternoon arrived quickly, and Wu Shi once again sat in W11.

He is getting along better and better with the new system, and can adjust the DAS system almost in real time to achieve the desired effects.

At the team's instruction, after setting a time of 1 minute 04.003 seconds, he stopped testing the fastest lap and instead focused on long-distance tests.

The old man also unleashed more speed, pushing his lap time to 1 minute 04.304 seconds.

Ferrari seemed to have regained some speed, with Vettel moving up to third place with a fastest lap time of 1 minute 04.961 seconds.

Friday's simple practice session showcased Mercedes' terrifying dominance.

Before returning, Wu Shi also accepted an interview as part of the established procedure.

However, due to the pandemic, reporters no longer conduct interviews in person; instead, they write their questions on slips of paper and hand them over to the press officer.

Wu Shi only needed to answer a few questions in front of the camera.

"Okay, first question: We saw that you were both very fast in the two practice matches. Does this mean that this year will be the year you win your fifth world championship?"

After reading the question aloud, he looked at the camera directly in front of him and said:

"Today's practice session was more about verifying whether the car's various performance characteristics met the specifications."

"Obviously, the results are quite good, but that doesn't mean we can easily deal with our competitors."

"Few teams will give their all in practice. I think we'll have to wait until the race to see how the cars perform."

"As for whether we can win our fifth world championship, I think I'm working hard, and the team is also hoping to win the championship. Everyone came here for this goal, right?"

After answering one question, there were three or four more to come. He avoided answering the sensitive questions about racism and the illegality of the DAS system.

Since the reporters weren't around, he didn't need to care about anything anymore.

After the interview, he left the interview area with the press officer.

On the way back, everyone kept a considerable distance.

With masks covering their faces and social distancing limiting conversation, the silent atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

The next day, he arrived at Weichang. The entire working environment remained the same as yesterday, but everyone was no longer as close as they had been the previous year.

"You don't need to be too fast in the third practice session. Just keep it about the same as yesterday. You also need to slow down in each timing segment."

Jonathan is one of the few people who maintain close communication with him.

“OK.” Wu Shi nodded.

At exactly twelve o'clock, Wu Shi started his third practice session, adjusted his watch, and drove onto the track.

After repeatedly adjusting some parameters, he parked the car back in the pit lane and got out of the car.

"What's the expected speed?" Toto asked, looking over.

“2.5 seconds,” Jonathan said, based on the predicted data.

Toto's face clearly showed surprise as he saw Wu Shi taking off his helmet and walking over, and said:

"Looks like we'll be able to have a good New Year this year?"

"If nothing unexpected happens," Wu Shi said with a smile.

“Yeah, no surprises, and I won’t allow any surprises to happen. Take a rest, and don’t contact outsiders lately. Too many engineers from the paddock have been hospitalized,” Toto said with concern.

On the other side, Hamilton returned to the pit stop after 21 laps of testing.

He set a time of 1 minute 04.030 seconds, which is very close to Wu Shi's time yesterday, and is most likely also the fastest lap in the third practice session.

Mercedes' speed caught Red Bull off guard, as Red Bull had already demonstrated considerable speed last year.

They had thought this year might be their year to contend for the championship.

However, in all three practice sessions, even though everyone was holding back, Mercedes still led by about 0.5 seconds.

Horner waited until Vestapan and Alben returned and immediately organized a discussion meeting.

Newey was sitting next to Verstappen.

Horner then took over the meeting, but there wasn't much to say; the gap they faced wasn't so easy to bridge.

Panzi listened, occasionally picking at his nails, sometimes propping his chin up and staring blankly at the screen.

The Red Bull team was already used to his behavior during meetings.

It's like a top student in class; you might think he's daydreaming, and he actually is, but he understands everything.

At 3 p.m. sharp, the qualifying race began.

Pirelli is using the same tire compound this year as last year.

The new compound for 2020 was rejected by all teams during tire testing last year because it was deemed too poor.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, tires with C1 to C5 compounds will no longer be available for teams to choose themselves, but will be uniformly distributed by Pirelli.

Therefore, the team will have fewer tactical options this year.

Soon, the qualifying rounds began.

Starting in Q1, the team chose a good window for Wu Shi, and he immediately set a practice time comparable to the veteran's in just one lap.

1 minutes 04 seconds 030.

Back in the P room, Jonathan told him directly that he didn't need to go out anymore.

Hamilton was somewhat affected on the first lap and did not control his lap time well, finishing in just 1 minute and 05 seconds.

So he did a second flying lap and successfully broke the lap time barrier of 1 minute and 04 seconds.

Finally, Grosjean closed the goal in 1 minute 05.094 seconds.

The difference between the first and fifteenth place is only a little over one second.

The players eliminated were Magnussen, Russell, Giovinazzi, Kimi, and Rada.

Williams and Arro were both eliminated in Q1 by two drivers, and they are already trending towards the bottom of the paddock.

到了Q2，吴轼第一个飞驰圈就将压力给到了其余车手，以1分03秒907正式突破1分04秒大关。

Hamilton's lap time remains at 1 minute 04.195 seconds.

After returning to the pit lane, both riders waited for the results of the other riders.

"Push yourself to the limit."

Shortly afterward, Jonathan told Wu Shi that the situation on the field had changed.

At this moment, the screen mounted on Halo displays the fastest laps of the other riders.

Match point, McLaren improved their lap time to 1 minute 03 seconds!

Mercedes couldn't predict what the other teams would achieve on the second lap, so they would inevitably have to do another lap.

Three minutes before Q2 stopped, Wu Shi came out again. Once on the track, he could feel the pleasure in his brain.

After warming up the tires, the final sprint officially begins.

On the super long straight road where the car started, as he stepped on the gas, he was firmly pressed into the seat, and his hands simultaneously pulled the steering wheel closer to him.

Adjust the toe angle to 0 and begin acceleration.

Because there is no toe angle, the steering wheel needs to be gripped more firmly, otherwise it will easily affect the vehicle's straight-line stability.

Approaching the right-angle turn (turn 1), he simultaneously pushed the steering wheel forward while adjusting the gear ratio, widening the toe angle.

He then turned, and the car's responsiveness gave him a sense of impending spin.

But it is precisely because of this sensitivity that he can maintain a fairly high speed when cornering.

After Turn 1, there was another long straight. Through repeated operations, Wu Shi pushed the DAS system to its limit.

Swish!
Finally, the race car crossed the finish line.

1 minutes 02 seconds 933!

It directly improved the lap time by almost 1 second!
Upon hearing this result, Binotto, Horner, and Marco all looked serious.

How the hell can you even compare these?!

Team leaders like Claire and Steiner, on the other hand, were watching with a spectator's mentality, and even excitedly told those around them how fast Wu Shi was.

However, Hamilton's lap time was soon released as well.

1 minutes 03 seconds 096!

too fast!
It's all too fast!

Binotto's serious expression looked like he was about to cry, because Lock & Locke and Vettel's second lap was not ideal.

The former is 1 minute 52.507 seconds.

The latter's time was 1 minute 52.501 seconds.

With the Q2 odometer deactivated, the two Red Bull motorcycles were retired.

Haas's sole remaining player, Grosjean, also missed out on Q3.

Ocon, who recently joined Renault, finished second to last and did not perform at the level of the previous year.

The last one to be eliminated was Ferrari's Vettel!
Ferrari really did send it, even though they were already very likely to send it during winter testing.

But now that there are no two Q3 cars available, it's completely hopeless.

Binotto shifted his headphones, clearly finding it difficult to say something.

Mercedes' joy and Ferrari's distress are not the same. Although Toto didn't smile, he looked quite happy.

What does 1 minute and 2.9 seconds mean?
It feels like I've gone back to 2016!

That's the feeling of being unparalleled in the world!
Sure enough, Wu Shi did not disappoint him in the subsequent Q3.

On the first flying lap, he once again pushed the car to its limits.

When the time of 1 minute 02.511 popped up, it immediately shut down everyone's ideas.

That lap time is insane!

Wu Shi got off the car as soon as he returned to the parking area, very confident, having already pushed the W11 to its limits.

Sure enough, the other drivers couldn't even hope to catch up, let alone overtake them!

The only thing that can beat Mercedes is another Mercedes.

But the old man only flew for 1 minute 02.951 seconds.

For Mercedes, this result can be described as "merely"; for other teams, it would be devastating!
Verstappen gave it his all and clocked a time of 1 minute 03.477 seconds.

But this result is a full second behind Mercedes!

Needless to say, teams other than Red Bull are also included.

After qualifying, Verstappen said directly to the cameras:
"Hopefully their long-distance speed will make things easier for us, otherwise it will be difficult for us to compete with them."

“But I will still try to compete with them, and I will start in second place tomorrow (the old man was penalized three places for not slowing down under the yellow flag in practice), and I think this is an opportunity.”

Of course, the one that everyone is most interested in is Ferrari.

Their two drivers finished seventh and eleventh, neither of which were particularly good results.

Binotto stammered during the interview and couldn't say anything.

Toto, not forgetting to add a touch of sarcasm, said:
"The evolution of Ferrari's engines is very interesting!"

After the cheat engine was removed, Ferrari's fortunes plummeted.

Even so, many people still hope that Ferrari's poor performance was just a one-off.

Wu Shi also came in front of the camera, repeating his previous statement about his achievements, which the reporters were already tired of hearing.

But the interviews in the enclosure were limited to this.

Mercedes' outstanding performance in qualifying for the opening race of 2020 undoubtedly diminished people's interest in the race.

However, since it is currently during the pandemic, many people are under home quarantine or working remotely, so the viewership ratings are surprisingly good.

Before the main event on Sunday, the organizers showed their support for the "Black Lives Matter" movement, asking everyone to kneel down in protest against racial discrimination.

Pan Zi, Le Kou, and the others didn't care about the request at all; they were just wearing "End Racism" T-shirts.

Then, the Austrian national anthem was played, and after the formalities were completed, the competition was finally about to begin.

Wu Shi was ready to dominate the battlefield, but once he started, he found himself bewildered when he looked around with his sword drawn.

Panzi, who was behind him, started slowly and was caught up by Norris, who had to exert some effort to hold his position.

Albon, Hamilton, Perez, and Locke started normally without causing any ripples.

After just one lap, Wu Shi had already left Pan Zi behind him out of the 1-second DRS zone.

As a result, he was almost never seen on camera during the entire race, despite his stable cruising.

The old man faced the challenge of overtaking, but after DRS was activated, he overtook his fellow countryman Norris at turn 2.

He overtook Albon on lap 9.

He overtook Verstappen on lap 11 – that was just the old man getting lucky.

Panzi's steering wheel malfunctioned. He went back to the repair shop and had it replaced, but the locked "anti-stall" mode was still not resolved.

However, at this moment, the old man was already a full 11 seconds away from Wu Shi.

“I want to use the engine’s full power; I want to catch up,” Hamilton said in TR.

The team agreed.

However, even after the old man ran 26 laps, he was still 7 seconds behind Wu Shi!

He couldn't catch up with Wu Shi at all!
On this lap, Magnussen missed his braking point and entered the gravel area, unable to escape, so the safety car came out.

The first tire change seemed so natural.

It was thought that the landscape would change after the restart, but Wu Shi's speed is still unmatched by Hamilton.

After chasing for more than ten laps, Allison told Hamilton directly that there was a problem with the gearbox and they couldn't continue like this!
The old man finally gave up.

But during those dozen or so laps, the old man only stayed in Wu Shi's 1-second zone on the first lap, and never came close after that, so the race organizers didn't even give him many shots.

On lap 50, the safety car appeared for the second time.

After the safety car was removed, Wu Shi continued to lead the race.

Albon, who was in third place, started attacking the old man who was using medium tires because he was using soft tires.

He used the slipstream at Turn 4 to overtake the old man from the outside.

As a result, the old man's left front wheel lightly touched Albon's right rear wheel.

Swish!
Red Bull went out of control and spun into the gravel!

Horner immediately launched into a tirade!

By the time Alben struggled out, he was already in last place.

The old man easily dealt with his pursuers, and thus felt no pressure.

However, his behavior still resulted in a 5-second penalty.

On lap 71, Wu Shi crossed the finish line, bringing Mercedes their first victory of the new season.

Hamilton finished fourth due to a penalty time.

Leclerc and Norris found the wallet on the podium.

However, due to the pandemic, the awards ceremony was held on the track, with everyone keeping a great distance from each other.

Even Barton, who was interviewing the people, used a long pole with a microphone attached to it.

Wu Shi delivered his acceptance speech.

Locke was very happy that he still made it to the podium even while driving the SF-1000.

At just 20 years, 7 months, and 22 days old, Norris became the fourth youngest driver to reach the podium in history.

After the race, Wu Shi was left in Styria, the location of the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Because the name of the second Grand Prix is ​​the Styrian Grand Prix.

Yes, still at the Red Bull Ring!

None of the drivers were allowed to leave, but Locke returned to Monaco and was photographed by reporters, resulting in a warning from the FIA.

Before the start of the second Grand Prix, Alonso confirmed that he would return to F1 next year.

This news excited the Spanish side, but it did not affect the ongoing Styrian Grand Prix.

On the same track, Wu Shi had no reason to lose the victory, even though it was pouring rain here on Saturday.

He achieved his second-best time of the season with a time of 1 minute 18.211 seconds.

Hamilton was one second behind in second place.

As expected, Wu Shi and Hamilton both won their first and second place finishes in the main competition the following day.

Verstappen finished third, returning to where Red Bull should be.

The Ferrari SF-1000 has even more problems than the SF-90.

David said directly during his commentary:

"All Ferrari can do now in 2020 is prepare for 2021."

Ferrari's Waterloo this year is inevitable. If they can't even get second place in the team standings, then they'll have no face left to save!

The third race of the season, the Hungarian Grand Prix, is fast approaching.

The outcome of the match was completely predictable; Mercedes won 1-2.

In the fourth race of the season, the British Grand Prix, Mercedes suffered two tire blowouts but still managed to finish in 1-2.

Mercedes once again brought home a 1-2 finish at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone Circuit), the fifth race of the season.

The sixth race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix.
F1 has been truly dominated by W11.

When Wu Shi was often one second faster than the third-place driver in qualifying, everyone simply accepted the result of the race.

No matter how much the team principals lament, it can't change the fact that the youngest four-time champion will always stand on the highest podium.

No, they're five-time champions now!
He is an existence on par with the ancient god Fangio!
2020 was the year Mercedes truly stood out from the crowd.

It was also a year that belonged exclusively to W11 and Wu Shi.

As expected, this pairing, like a space odyssey, elegantly and effortlessly ended all suspense.

(End of this chapter)