F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 331 First Shot of the Season
On March 12, the Bahrain International Circuit welcomed 10 F1 teams for winter testing.

The weather here is dry today, with temperatures ranging from 29.9 to 32.2°C, road surface temperature around 35°C, and humidity at 32.4%.

Overall it's not bad, but the wind speed is a bit high, and sand and dust often get blown in.

Due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, this winter testing will be the only opportunity for each team to observe the condition of their cars in the new season.

Therefore, all the teams attach great importance to it.

Wu Shi always travels with the motorcade on chartered flights, doing his best to protect himself from the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The Mercedes team had already set up the pit lane, and Wu Shi and Jonathan went inside together.

“We only have three days, so you need to provide us with enough data,” Jonathan said.

“Okay, I understand.” Wu Shi nodded.

The race car quickly completed its preparations, and Wu Shi changed to C2 tires and drove directly onto the track.

After driving just 10 laps, he had a basic understanding of the car.

This is a race car that tends to understeer and has extremely unstable rear downforce, so it drives very strangely.

When he tried to find the lower limit, he suddenly discovered the instability of the gearbox, so he focused all his energy on the gearbox.

Swish!
Suddenly, he accelerated too early while turning, and the car began to slide.

"Wu Shi actually slipped!"

This is what everyone watching the test thinks.

However, while sliding, Wu Shi refocused his attention on his race car.

He turned the steering wheel and then released the brake and accelerated as the car straightened out.

With the rear wheel torque returning, traction was regained, and the race car spun around like a donut, returning to normal driving.

The yellow flag was immediately removed after a brief period.

“The downforce at the tail is very low, I need to pit,” Wu Shi said.

“Copy,” Jonathan agreed.

In the same circle, Wu Shi returned to the pit garage. The mechanics pushed the race car back to the storage room and then helped Wu Shi climb out of the car.

"what's the situation?"

Jonathan and a large group of people gathered around.

“The tail section is very sensitive to downforce, and it can easily slip if you’re not careful. I also feel that the overall balance is problematic,” Wu Shi said.

Jonathan took out the form that Allison had given him; it was clear that it was difficult to summarize certain things clearly through verbal communication.

Wu Shi placed the helmet on the vehicle, then walked to the command wall and said to Allison:

"There seems to be a problem with the gearbox. I feel the transmission isn't working smoothly. Is there something wrong with our data?"

Arison looked at the data and said, "The values ​​are within the distribution range. We will check them after the test is over."

"it is good."

No sooner had Wu Shi finished speaking than Hamilton's car sped off the track in the control wall.

“This is the third time,” Allison said.

Wu Shi didn't say much, and Hamilton was also trying to overcome his understeer.

He licked his upper lip, went back to the P room, and filled out the form.

"Only 20 laps, we need you to collect more."

Before Jonathan could finish speaking, Allison's command came through the earpiece:
"Wu Shi doesn't need to go out anymore; we'll call it a day this morning."

"what?"

Jonathan looked bewildered, then waved to Wu Shi.

As soon as the old man returned to the field, Mercedes packed up his things and pulled down the shutter.

Both Mercedes vehicles experienced transmission problems. The best course of action is to replace the parts with spares immediately, otherwise a whole day of testing time will be wasted.

However, this is a huge project, and it seemed completely hopeless this morning.

By the afternoon, Hamilton's car had been repaired and returned to the track after adjustments.

However, Wu Shi's replacement of the gearbox was delayed for a considerable period of time due to a major problem.

To compensate for the lack of data on Wu Shi's side, Hamilton installed a pneumatic rake (barbecue grill: airflow detector).

Before we could do much testing, a strong gust of wind blew in, and a sandstorm almost buried the entire track.

Wu Shi gripped his mask tightly. This was too abstract. What was Bahrain up to?
It's estimated that most drivers won't be able to conduct the test.

Sure enough, the afternoon test was very rushed, and by the time the sandstorm subsided, there wasn't much time left.

Throughout the day, Wu Shi ran 21 laps, while Hamilton ran 48 laps.

Mercedes' testing results today were not ideal.

But given their status as seven-time world champions in motorsports, the engineers remained calm and composed.

The other teams on the track fared much better in testing than Mercedes.

The two Ferrari drivers completed 57 and 59 laps respectively, and both Locke and Catmeat (Sainz) said in interviews that the situation was good.

Red Bull's Perez didn't play, but Verstappen ran 139 laps by himself, and he said it was good.

Aston Martin didn't test many, but Vettel spoke very enthusiastically.

Everyone's comments were pretty much the same; they all said they had a very happy day.

Wu Shi said the same thing to the camera: although it was unlucky, it didn't matter, Mercedes could still cheer up.

The next day, although the temperature dropped, the track temperature at noon actually rose to 40°C.

Without the dust storm, the track conditions are much better.

Mercedes-Benz has repaired the gearbox for Wu Shi, but the gearbox supplied to Aston Martin has a problem.

Vettel lost his practice opportunity.

However, this has nothing to do with Wu Shi.

This morning, as planned, we conducted some data collection tests.

Wu Shi is trying his best to adapt to this unbalanced race car.

He tries to feel the overall dynamics of the car when it is unbalanced in order to provide more accurate feedback.

After yesterday's adjustments, the racing speed has improved considerably today, but the handling is still very poor.

In the afternoon, as track conditions improved, some drivers began conducting long-distance simulation tests.

The team replaced Wu Shi's chassis with a new one—the kit outside the hard shell was changed, and they wanted to see how it went.

As it turns out, the new base plate is indeed much better to use.

After 58 laps, Wu Shi successfully achieved a time of 1 minute 30.289 seconds, ranking first in the second day of testing.

Hamilton, using the old chassis, had a speed of only 1 minute 33.399 seconds.

Of course, the two used different setups, so it's normal for their lap times to differ.

The fastest lap time isn't the key metric for winter testing; what really matters is long-distance stability and tire management.

By the third day, more drivers began to conduct full race simulations.

The three days passed very quickly and were very busy.

I drive a car during the day and analyze data at night.

Finally, based on the short-distance preseason tests, Red Bull is in the lead, with Mercedes trailing by 0.56 seconds.

McLaren is third, and Aston Martin is fourth.

Ferrari is surprisingly third from last, and is expected to be 1.28 seconds behind Red Bull.

Of course, Williams, who has made almost no adjustments for the new season, is at the bottom, trailing by 1.83 seconds.

However, in the long run, Mercedes still has the advantage.

Red Bull finished second, 0.39 seconds behind, while Aston Martin and McLaren were neck and neck.

Ferrari is in sixth place, Williams is second to last, and Haas is at the bottom.

After three days of testing, a glimpse into the situation of each team has been obtained.

Ferrari stated on the 15th that the engine's power output this year appears to be normal and has caught up with the schedule.

Leclerc said the same thing to Binotto.

Sainz, however, couldn't guarantee anything, only saying that McLaren had made great progress.

I wonder if he regrets leaving McLaren?
For Mercedes, Toto said the start of the year was terrible and the immediate priority is to figure out where the vehicle's balance went wrong.

At the same time, Toto didn't forget to mention Red Bull, saying that Red Bull's winter testing started just like Mercedes-Benz's previous years.

Horner will definitely retort to Toto, saying that Mercedes also had problems everywhere during testing two years ago!

Everyone has seen the final result of the match.

Anyway, the outside world doesn't really believe that Mercedes is finished, because Mercedes always likes to hide things.

Vettel also said that Mercedes may not have the miraculous speed anymore, but they will still be able to maintain a favorable position on the track.

But as anyone in the family knows, Hamilton was more irritable than in previous years when driving the W12.

This car has very poor handling and balance, and serious stability issues at the rear.

The old man had to be very careful.

Wu Shi seemed to have adapted to the car after the first day, and he lagged behind Wu Shi in the long-distance test.

This is worse than the start of previous years.

Toto didn't look worried; Mercedes' poor performance was relative.

However, Red Bull's performance in the winter testing made him feel threatened, and Mercedes would not have the same advantage as last year and the year before.

Honda's revamped engine truly demonstrates its immense power; Red Bull is faster than Mercedes on every straight!

If someone said Mercedes' engine was no good when we were just entering the hybrid era, that person would be in deep trouble.

But judging from the situation this year, it seems that this is indeed the case?
Toto was having a headache; the $1.45 million budget cap meant he had to figure out how to allocate funds for all projects.

Obviously, the engine is something we can't neglect.

The preseason testing ended on March 14, but it marked the beginning of the new season.

Two weeks later, on March 16, the Bahrain Grand Prix was about to begin.

Considering the drivers' increasingly busy schedules, the organizers no longer require drivers to attend the press conference on Thursdays, but have moved that time to Friday morning.

This resulted in Friday practice matches being squeezed into the afternoon or evening of Friday.

At the first press conference of the new season—the Bahrain Grand Prix press conference—all the important figures were present.

The reporter first asked Wu Shi, who has won five championships, "..."

"Your performance in the winter testing didn't seem ideal. The media is now widely predicting that Red Bull will win the world championship this year. What's your opinion on that?"

Wu Shi, drawing on some of the requirements previously given by the press officer, said:

"We have indeed encountered some problems that were not necessary and were caused by the new FIA regulations, but we have no choice but to accept the changes."

“Our car has indeed lost its previous advantage, but I still don’t think there will be a faster driver than me in the paddock, and I am not afraid of Red Bull’s challenge.”

His words were calm and firm.

This made Verstappen look directly at him, and the reporter couldn't wait to ask him:
"Max, what do you think?"

Pan Zi took the microphone from Wu Shi and said directly:

"As I said before, Mercedes didn't unleash their full potential during the winter testing. They hid their horsepower and then ran a few laps at low power before saying they were inferior to us."

"Even if their cars no longer have the absolute advantage of previous years, how can you underestimate a team that has won the Manufacturers' Championship for seven consecutive years?"

"However, I really feel good about our race car this year. I think I've been waiting a long time to compete with Wu Shi."

The reporter was very satisfied with the tense and confrontational atmosphere between the two young men.

In any case, with Mercedes' decline in various aspects, this year's competition may really be subject to change?

However, she did not forget the other drivers sitting there.

Hamilton's views on racing are similar to Wu Shi's, both criticizing the FIA ​​for weakening Mercedes without reason.

Then he said:
"I am indeed much older than the two of them, but I don't think I'm too old to drive."

Meanwhile, the leader, who had returned to the paddock, was also full of pride and said directly:
"I think I'm the fastest in the paddock."

However, after saying that, he changed the subject and said, "Okay, it shouldn't be like that now, but it should have been in 2018."

Vettel remained expressionless, with a hint of disdain:

"I only met a vain person."

Alonso didn't seem to care, saying, "I have made mistakes in the past, I admit that, but that was due to circumstances."

Seeing that several people with world championship titles had already started causing trouble at the press conference, the reporters were not worried at all; on the contrary, they hoped that the trouble would get even bigger!
After the group of bigwigs finished speaking, Mick Schumacher also got the microphone.

Both Alonso and Kimi gave the little guy a very warm welcome.

He seemed somewhat docile; after all, no matter how illustrious his family background, he was still a newcomer to the paddock.

If he doesn't perform well in his debut year, it will bring a stain to the Schumacher name.

He was under immense pressure.

And so, the press conference had just finished in the morning, and the practice match followed immediately in the afternoon.

Verstappen took the lead in both practice sessions, with his fastest lap time set at 1 minute 30.847 seconds.

In the third training session the following morning, Verstappen improved this time by 0.3 seconds.

Wu Shi and Hamilton's lap times were not ideal, perhaps because of the hot weather.

Ferrari, which claimed to have upgraded its engine, failed to demonstrate any real strength in the three practice sessions.

However, neither the preseason testing nor the three free practice sessions are the time for teams to truly showcase their strength in 2021.

At 6 PM, the qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix begins, and it's time to witness the true strength of each team!
Q1 begins with Russell, Mick, Mazzepin, and Latifi being the first four drivers to take the field.

Wu Shi sat in the race car, while the mechanic next to him poured ice into the blower.

He looked at the screen in front of him, which showed the status of several drivers, all of whom were using soft tires for Q1.

“We’ll also use soft tires, but we’ll use medium tires in Q2, so try to get a feel for the situation in Q1,” Jonathan said.

Wu Shi nodded. This ranking competition was destined to be a contest of who could pull out their pants last.

Williams' Russell was the first to arrive at the arena, by which time S1's time had already been recorded: 29.780 seconds.

However, the first timer segment after he had just cleared the purple area was quickly cleared by the person behind him.

So Russell was let go, which is obviously unacceptable.

As soon as he drove into the pit lane, the camera panned to the racetrack.

Ma Zeping spun and slipped, causing a brief yellow flag to appear on the track.

However, this did not affect Mick's lap times.

1 minutes 33 seconds 861.

The four drivers ultimately achieved one result.

Wu Shi shook his head slightly as he watched the broadcast. There were too many directors this year, and there would be many variables.

The worst-case scenario is that he'll be speeding along when some director suddenly comes along and ruins the whole thing.

So he took a deep breath, cleared his head, and did his best to achieve the maximum lap time, leaving no room for error.

"Are the settings adjusted?"

Jonathan's voice rang out, and the old man remained as composed as he had been six years ago.

“Alright, set it up according to Q1,” Wu Shi said.

At this point, more than 5 minutes had passed in Q1, with 12 and a half minutes remaining.

Two Ferraris, two Arro, and Norris chose to participate.

On Wu Shi's side, the screen was removed and the vehicle was put down.

The observer at the front had already retreated outside the warehouse. He looked at the fast lane and waved to Wu Shi.

hum!
Wu Shi shifted into gear and drove out of the parking garage.

Soon, one race car after another drove in, and the track was packed with cars.

Norris was the first to start lapping the track, at which point a northerly wind was blowing with a speed of 10.3 m/s.

Bahrain has two long, straight roads running north-south, which means there are both tailwinds and headwinds.

Based on preseason testing, wind will significantly affect corners 4, 10, and 13, potentially causing oversteer in the cars.

Norris achieved a time of 1 minute 31.754 seconds, with two green runs and one purple run.

He was two seconds ahead of Mick.
However, Leclerc quickly improved his time, taking a slight lead with a time of 1 minute 31.682 seconds.

At this point, the lap time had not yet reached the level of Pan Zi's preseason testing.

Then, the camera focused on Wu Shi, and the first segment was indeed painted purple.

Sainz crossed the finish line at that moment, with a time of 1 minute 31.653 seconds, narrowly defeating Leclerc.

But as I said before, none of these times are under 1 minute and 30 seconds, so they are definitely not fast!

"We still need to see Wu Shi's performance. This year, whether Mercedes or Red Bull is better depends on his and Verstappen's results," the soldier said.

"We can't have that many, Hamilton is still very good," Fei said.

“Um, Hamilton’s first timing segment is green, so he’s obviously not as fast as Wu Shi,” Haoran said.

After the three finished speaking, the two Aro cars crossed the finish line, and no one cared about the time of 1 minute and 32 seconds.

However, before Wu Shi crossed the finish line, the three gave a sharp critique of Sainz's performance.

"Leclerc needs to be careful this year."

"Yes, it's hard to believe that this is someone who just joined Ferrari this year. Sainz's ability is absolutely remarkable."

At this moment, Wu Shi's No. 59 all-black Mercedes, streaking with sparks, rushed into the main road.

Swish!
1 minutes 30 seconds 501!

"He directly blew Sainz away by 1 second and 1 second."

"Is this lap time similar to Verstappen's lap time?"

"Almost, almost."

The three of them were not too surprised.

Hamilton then crossed the finish line with a time of 1 minute 30.617 seconds.

At this moment, the camera focused on Verstappen's T-shaped viewpoint.

He has arrived at Turn 11.
Perez crossed the finish line at that moment, 1 minute 31.165 seconds! "Look at Verstappen, he's green in the first timeout, I wonder how he'll do in the second timeout."

"Wow! The second segment is 0.04 faster!"

"Look at the last paragraph, Verstappen, it should be quick!"

Amidst the voices of the three, Verstappen, in green and purple, crossed the finish line.
1 minutes 30 seconds 499!
"Two-thousandths of a second!"

Will Wu Shi come out and run another lap?

"Red Bull is fast too!"

As Fei Ge finished speaking, Kakuta, despite having three greens, still managed to surpass Hamilton's final score.

1 minutes 30 seconds 607!

Hamilton couldn't sit still any longer.

"Haha, Honda's engines are so powerful this year!"

"Look at the top few, Mercedes-Benz has been completely dominated by Honda engines."

At this point, a slow-motion replay of Verstappen appears, showing that he ate too much off the kerb as he exited Turn 2, causing debris to fly off the undercarriage.

As soon as his car was pushed back to his pit shed, the technicians lifted it up and then lay down on the ground to check the situation.

“Max’s base plate is damaged, which may affect its speed,” Jonathan told Wu Shi.
"Yeah, is Lewis going to go for another run?" Wu Shi asked directly.

“He wants to go for a run,” Jonathan replied.

After the first lap, everyone had a better understanding of the situation.

Hamilton will definitely make it into Q2, but the competition among teams starts from the very beginning.

The old man clearly felt his touch wasn't quite there, so with 3 minutes left, he re-entered the field and started speeding around.
Many other mid-level drivers emerged around the same time as him.

Unfortunately, this time he was even slower, at just 1 minute 31.988 seconds.

However, there were even slower ones than him. Vettel crossed the finish line last, with a time of just 1 minute 32.067 seconds!

All three members of Six Star Sports were incredulous.
"Ah! So slow!"

"Even slower than Latifi!"

The three exclaimed in surprise, clearly unable to believe that this was the level of a four-time champion.

Q1 was suspended, and Ocon, Latifi, Vettel, Mike, and Mazeping were eliminated.
Russell actually carried Williams into Q2!

Vettel is actually inferior to the young master!
"Vettel did not make it into Q2."

Jonathan told Wu Shi about this unexpected situation.

"Was it blocked?" Wu Shi asked.

“Yes, it was blocked by Haas, Ma Zeping slipped, and then the yellow flag appeared,” Jonathan said.

"What a pity."

Wu Shi remained silent, while Ma Zeping had already begun.

While patiently waiting, Q2 will begin.

“Yellow fetus,” Jonathan said.

"OK."

Wu Shi knew that this was probably preparation for tomorrow's main competition.

If you set the fastest lap time using soft tires, starting on soft tires is not good for the first stint.

After a long wait, Wu Shi was the first in the leading team to take the track for a flying lap.

He urged the car on, but also remembered the team's task: to control the time precisely, which was an exceptional test for the driver.

However, he was extremely familiar with the vehicles and the track, and knew that controlling the performance was nothing more than coordinating the throttle, brakes and racing line.

He was able to control these things very well, given that the wind speed and direction remained constant.

The lights on the goggles flashed by quickly as the black Mercedes streaked across the finish line, leaving a long trail of sparks.

1 minute and 30 seconds!

"Great! It's really fast!"

"Look, Mercedes is starting to take things out."

Hamilton, right behind Wu Shi, also flew a time of 1 minute 30.085 seconds.

This further solidified everyone's judgment that Mercedes was hiding something during the preseason testing!
After hiding it for so long, it's finally been exposed!

After driving the car back to the repair area, Wu Shi continued to wait.

After the mechanics removed the tires, they prepared a new set of yellow tires.

A time of 1 minute and 30 seconds is the team's requirement for Q2, but this does not guarantee that they will make it into Q3.

He waited patiently, and for a long time afterward, no one set a faster lap time than him.

But the situation on the track was very strange. Red Bull and Toro Rosso were using yellow tires, while McLaren was using red tires.

Their times were all around 1 minute 30.2 seconds, which was so close that they had to go out and run the last flying lap!

Otherwise, you might suffer in silence.

So in the last few minutes, Wu Shi continued to use Huang Tai.

Both Ferraris were fitted with red tires, it looks like they're going all in!
However, their use of red tires also revealed to Mercedes and Red Bull the extreme weakness of this red powerhouse.

Sure enough, the team using red tires saw a significant increase in speed.

Leclerc 1 minute 30 seconds 010!

Sainz was one-thousandth faster, at 1 minute 30.009 seconds!

迈凯伦两位也不差，诺里斯1分30秒099，里卡多1分30秒222。

At this moment, Wu Shi had already entered the final lap of the race.

Jonathan said "P1" into the headset.

Wu Shi knew he wouldn't need to show his underwear, and he was the last to cross the finish line.

The time was 1 minute 30.011 seconds.

Q2 is over, and the difference between the top ten is less than 0.6 seconds!
The players eliminated are Perez, Bottas, Kakuta, Kimi, and Russell.

Finally, the competition entered Q3.

Forty seconds later, everyone started lining up to leave.

Verstappen came on 20 seconds later.

Lock & Lock remained in the P room and did not leave.

Wu Shi has begun to warm up the fetus, and now there is no need to hide anything anymore.

Gasly had already crossed the finish line before he even started.

1 minutes 30 seconds 014!

Clearly, the Toro Rosso is much faster this year after it was equipped with a Honda engine!

However, Hamilton behind him was faster, having already clocked purple in two timeouts.

However, as he ran, his first timing segment turned green.

Immediately, Wu Shi's score sheet appeared, showing that he was extremely fast in the first time segment!

Immediately afterwards, Hamilton's second timing segment turned green again.

"Wu Shi is so fast!"

At that moment, Hamilton crossed the finish line.

Swish!
1 minutes 29 seconds 549!

Gasly's performance was completely inadequate!
"Wait! The purple color in Wu Shi's second stanza is gone!"

"It's Verstappen."

Wu Shi was turning into Turn 13 at this moment, and because the north wind was beginning to change into a northeast wind, it was greatly affecting the turn.

However, wind can be an obstacle, or it can be a help.

He braked a little later than before, and once he slowed down, he immediately turned right.

The race car, which would normally have understeered, oversteered due to the wind.

Buzz! !
As the car entered the bend, Wu Shi immediately began to accelerate, and the race car roared to life.

On the long straight, with the wind at our backs, the race car quickly reached 310 km/h.

The speed is still increasing.

laugh!
Wu Shi began to brake, turned into the two consecutive turns 14 and 15, and then rushed towards the starting straight.

"Let's take a look at Wu Shi's results!"

"He was outpaced by Verstappen in the second split. Verstappen is faster, but he should be faster than Hamilton."

Swish!
1 minutes 29 seconds 333!

"0.2 points faster? That's a normal gap!" the soldier exclaimed.

"The most important thing now is to see how Verstappen performs."

"The third timing segment should be too slow."

Haoran glanced at the timer, compared the track positions, and then spoke.

Sure enough, Pan Zi crossed the finish line with a time of 1 minute 29.526 seconds!

Wow! It seems Wu Shi is still invincible this year!

"Phew, you know what? During the winter testing, Wu Shi didn't do much testing, and I thought the Mercedes-Benz Arena was really doomed," Haoran said with a sigh of relief.

"This is the first round of fighting; there's a second round to come," Fei said.

At this point, Stroll, Leclerc, and Alonso had not yet completed their first flying lap.

After Wu Shi parked the car, someone immediately came to change the soft tires and put on new soft tires.

At this moment, the three drivers who hadn't done the laps took to the field and sped off.

Shortly after, with 3 minutes remaining in Q3, all drivers returned to the field to avoid a repeat of the 19 Italie Grand Prix.

Wu Shi was the first to appear, while Hamilton was placed at the back of the team.

The best approach would have been to have one person in front and one person behind, so that at least one person could get a suitable wake.

Clearly, neither Mercedes driver will slipstream the other.

Wu Shi rushed into the starting straight, and even at the end of the straight, his top speed was only 313 kph due to the headwind.

The camera focused on Wu Shi, comparing his own time of 28.385 seconds to the first time segment, which was also the fastest in the entire event.

This time, his control of the car was even more terrifying, almost beyond his expected limits. Even fluctuations in wind force could affect his stability.

But in order to compete for pole position, we have to take risks!
Susu!

With his brakes coming on way too late, and before he had even slowed down, Wu Shi was already eager to turn into Turn 4.

The understeer made the dynamics of the car's front end unclear, but the northeast wind was blowing hard.

After the vehicle was positioned across the road, the windward surface increased significantly, as if someone had given it a push, propelling the entire vehicle into Turn 4.

Wu Shi's heart rate jumped to over 190 beats per minute. If the wind hadn't been strong enough, he would have gone off the track!
After turning the corner, the vehicle immediately began to accelerate, its rear end shaking violently, even causing the rear wing to tremble precariously.

However, the torque and grip worked together very well, propelling the entire race car into the long straight.

Swish!
The results for the first timing segment are in:
28 second 301!

"It's purple again! 0.08 seconds faster!" Haoran exclaimed in shock.

“You can always trust Wu Shi!” the soldier said.

At this moment, Verstappen's first timing segment also came out.

28.349 seconds!
"Slower than Wu Shi!"

Immediately afterwards, the old man's S1 came out, 28.372 seconds.

"Wu Shi was already 0.07 seconds faster than his teammate in S1, this lap is definitely going to break a record! But Verstappen is faster than Hamilton."

Haoran continued, his tone still tinged with surprise.

"Verstappen is fast too, Hamilton is estimated to be in third place," Fei predicted.

The second stage in Bahrain will be a true test of a driver's accuracy, especially given the current wind speeds.

Wu Shi handled the situation with exceptional caution, because Mercedes-Benz would be very slow here.

His eyes were only on the racetrack, and his mind was only focused on the feeling of the car.

Heh!

Before turn 11, Wu Shi turned against the wind and felt tremendous resistance.

So you can still brake late here and use the wind to slow down, but you need to control it very carefully because the steering is also affected!
Buzz!

The engine noise and the wind noise intertwined, and he completely blocked out the G-forces that caused him to sway from side to side.

Swish!
The race car rushed out of Turn 12.

S2: 38.377 (Purple)
"It's purple again!" Exclamations continued.

However, as Verstappen crossed the second timing point, Wu Shi's purple turned green.

"Whoa! Verstappen is even faster!" the soldier exclaimed.

"My God! It wiped out 0.15 seconds!" Haoran was also incredulous.

"Red Bull's second timing is incredibly fast! He was 0.1 seconds faster than Wu Shi just now!" Fei Ge couldn't believe it.

Verstappen S2 time,

38 second 229!

"It all comes down to the last timing segment!"

Everyone held their breath.

Wu Shi was still very fast; the W12 flew through his hands like a dragon.

Swish!
S3: 22.391 (purple)!

Total time: 1 minute 28.997 seconds!

"It swiped almost 0.3 seconds faster!"

"Wu Shi is truly a once-in-a-century driver! You have no idea what kind of unexpected results he can achieve," Fei Ge exclaimed.

"But that's not enough!"

Verstappen crossed the finish line behind him.

S3: 22.419 (Green).

Total time: 1 minute 28.997 seconds!

Green, purple, green! Verstappen takes his first shot of the season!

This shocked everyone, and David immediately began shouting:
"Oh my god! Max Verstappen's final time is 1 minute 28.997 seconds!"

"He won pole position! He snatched pole position from Wu Shi!"

Will Red Bull destroy Mercedes' seven-time champion dynasty this year? It seems like we're about to witness a dramatic change in the entire paddock! Hopefully, this is happening right now.

"We're tired of Wu Shi's PTW; we need to see a challenger!"

"P1! P1, you're in pole position!"

GP told Verstappen in TR.

"Oh? Oh! Yeeeee!! Hahaha, I know, we got pole position!"

Verstappen was ecstatic and shouted with joy in the TR.

Meanwhile, Jonathan told Wu Shi, "P2, difference 0.06."

"Okay, I think I ran pretty well." Wu Shi said, panting but still calm.

“Yes, you ran very well, you did very well,” Jonathan said.

Immediately afterwards, all the drivers' results were announced.

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the 21 season! The only driver to break the 1 minute 28 second barrier!

Wu Shi came in second, with a time of 1 minute 29.059 seconds.

Hamilton finished third with a time of 1 minute 29.276 seconds.

Leclerc finished fourth with a time of 1 minute 29.678 seconds.

Gasly is fifth, Ricardo is sixth, Norris is seventh, Sainz is eighth, Alonso is ninth, and Storol is tenth.

"Verstappen's pole position is absolutely groundbreaking for 2021; Red Bull has truly risen!" Bing Ge concluded directly.

"Even Wu Shi is struggling to keep up. What will happen in tomorrow's main competition? I'm already looking forward to it," Haoran said.

Wu Shi parked the car behind sign number 2 and climbed out.

Verstappen then pulled up beside him, got out, and immediately went over to him, saying:
"Haha! I got pole position!"

"Congratulations, but be careful in tomorrow's match, haha!" Wu Shi patted his helmet.

"Oh, I'm not afraid, come on!"

Verstappen was very straightforward, and as he spoke, he patted Wu Shi's helmet.

After Hamilton got out of the car, he couldn't join their conversation.

However, he didn't want to pay attention to it and went to weigh himself on his own.

When Wu Shi arrived, he said, "You're still so fast."

“Yeah, I used the wind to make a quick turn, but our headwind speed is still too slow,” Wu Shi said.

"Yes, we are greatly affected by the wind. Hopefully, the wind won't be this strong tomorrow."

After Hamilton finished speaking, he looked at the three race cars: two Mercedes and one Red Bull in the middle.

Wu Shi has indeed lost his pole position, which is quite rare.

However, Wu Shi who is not in pole position is definitely easier to deal with than Wu Shi who starts from pole position.

He was so engrossed in watching the Red Bull that he didn't snap out of it until Verstappen called out to him.

"What are you looking at?" Panzi asked with a smile.

“You guys are fast,” Lewis remarked casually.

"Yeah, we're definitely not as fast as you in the main race, that's how it is in the winter testing."

Pan Zi responded with a comment and stepped forward to weigh himself.

(End of this chapter)