F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 347 F1's First Sprint Qualifying Race

On Saturday noon, the second practice match was held first.

Wu Shi and Hamilton were assigned different tasks.

He will use heavy-duty oil to test the difference in wear between the three types of tires, while the old man will use light-duty oil with less than 20 laps to test his cruising lap time.

Since neither of them was primarily focused on testing their lap times, they didn't achieve impressive results in the second practice session.

As soon as the practice match ended, the two returned to the warehouse meeting room, where the engineer synchronized the data that had just been collected.

"The lap times on the lightly loaded red tires were pretty good, but the rate of decay seemed quite significant to us."

After the strategy team finished speaking, they looked at Hamilton and said:
"Lewis, are you considering starting on red tires?"

Because it's a sprint qualifying session, the tire restrictions are different; you don't need to use the tires for the fastest lap in Q2.

Hamilton hesitated; he longed for a home win, even if it was just a qualifying victory.

Needless to say, the results of the sprint qualifying will determine the starting grid for the main race.

The strategy director did not interrupt Hamilton's thoughts, because the advantages and disadvantages of red tires were very obvious.

He might be able to surpass Verstappen or even Wu Shi at the start, but he will inevitably face the problem of tire deterioration near the end.

After waiting for a while, Hamilton finally said, "Yes, I'll use red tires."

The strategy director looked at Wu Shi, who said, "I'll follow the normal strategy and use neutral tires."

With both drivers having finalized their tire strategies, there was no need to say anything more for the sprint qualifying session.

Everyone went to prepare for their respective tasks; the sprint qualifying race would officially begin at 4:30 PM.

Wu Shi, with his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, waited in the garage alongside Hamilton, whose hands were in his trouser pockets.

After watching the busy engineers for a while, Wu Shi spoke frankly:

"Judging from the situation, the last five laps on red tires will be very difficult. Even if you do manage to overtake at the start, I don't think you'll have a chance."

"RB16B has the slowest straightaway speed in the entire race. As long as I have a lead at the start, I can hold onto my position."

Hamilton pursed his lips and crouched down near the front wing of his car. At this point, the front wing wasn't installed, and some of the internal structures could be seen.
The two tacitly avoided discussing surpassing each other, but in fact, they used Verstappen as a pretext to say the same thing.

Hamilton reached out and squeezed the upper arm of the front suspension, then said, "Get ready, or I'll overtake you."

"Haha, then you'll have to surpass Verstappen first. Good luck."

Wu Shi said with a smile, but did not reach out to touch Hamilton's race car. Otherwise, if the old man didn't drive well, he would be in deep trouble.

He was just squatting there chatting with the old man, but he felt that Hamilton was much more nervous than he was.

Perhaps it's because his two competitors were too strong.

Perhaps Hamilton, who has been in a slump for the past few years, is increasingly concerned about this game, which has 300,000 fans in attendance.

Or perhaps both are true, but the more you care, the more nervous you become.
-
Inside the Red Bull booth, Verstappen sat at the conference table picking his fingers, while Newey sat next to him, speaking at the moment.

Perez listened very carefully because he qualified fifth and had to carefully consider the specific parameters for the start if he wanted to get a position.

Most importantly, the pressure he faced being with Verstappen was immense.

Horner's expectation for him is not to follow in Verstappen's footsteps and eat his tail fumes, but to reach a position similar to Verstappen's and provide him with support in the game.

Obviously, if he were fourth, he would be able to threaten Hamilton, allowing Verstappen to attack Wu Shi with peace of mind.

Now, he's in fifth place and can only fight for his own spot.

As soon as the meeting ended, Verstappen got up and went outside to check the weather.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was four o'clock in the afternoon. The first sprint qualifying session in F1 history was about to begin.

The weather was sunny, the stands were full of spectators, and everyone was very enthusiastic, with cheers constantly rising from the stands.

The sprint race started exactly the same way as the main race, except that it lacked off-race elements such as the drivers' parade and the playing of the national anthem.

Silverstone is a tire-torturing track, so most drivers opted for medium tires to start.

However, the old man chose the soft tire in order to win.

He was joined by Alonso, Ocon, and Kimi.

Riders who choose soft tires have their reasons, after all, running 17 laps on soft tires at Silverstone is a real test of skill, and they don't want to get another puncture.

After the tire warm-up lap, Wu Shi parked the car in the starting grid, checked the settings, and confirmed that everything was correct.

The sprint race, as its name suggests, is like a sprint race in every stage.

The last car had just stopped when the red light came on, even before the staff waving the green flag had crossed the track.

Five red lights lit up in succession, then went out without delay, just as the person waving the green flag had reached the other side of the track.

The rapid start of the race caught the drivers off guard, and even Wu Shi was slightly jerked by the change.

In 0.213 seconds, Jonathan saw Wu Shi's reaction speed, which was not up to his usual standard.

However, Verstappen got off to a pretty good start and quickly seized the opportunity, taking a breath of the tail and immediately pulling off a spin.

However, Wu Shi took advantage of his starting position to successfully cut diagonally to block Verstappen and thus secured the center position.

Whoosh!

However, as he approached Turn 1, Verstappen still relied on his faster response time to gain acceleration and begin climbing.

The two cars roared past turns 1 and 2, and as they approached turn 3, Wu Shi's lead became increasingly precarious.

But he remained calm and firmly controlled the inside.

He was waiting for Turn 3 to get rid of Verstappen!
Sure enough, the slow V-shaped corner number 3 finally prevented Red Bull from generating the super downforce it usually does in high-speed corners.

Verstappen was unable to keep up, and Wu Shi immediately used his lead to intercept the line as he exited the corner.

Verstappen did not risk pushing his way through, but instead allowed himself to fall behind Wu Shi due to the impact.

As the car exited the corner, Mercedes' traction control proved advantageous, and combined with Wu Shi's throttle-shifting technique, it quickly created a gap between itself and Red Bull.

The two cars finally stopped being parked side by side!
But Wu Shi didn't dare to relax after exiting the corner, and directly crossed the entire track to grab the inside line of the left-hand corner No. 4.

Verstappen followed behind him, frantically changing lanes, both trying to overtake and disrupting Hamilton behind him.

Sparks flew as the speeding race car scraped against the ground.

But what's puzzling is that before Turn 4, Verstappen didn't return to the center line when he couldn't overtake, but instead continued to drive on the outside!

Immediately afterwards, we saw the RB16B closing the distance with Wu Shi from the outside like a superhero!

Such a fast cornering rhythm!
"Max Verstappen is still closely following Wu Shi. Is he trying to overtake Wu Shi from the outside?!"

Amid the commentator's exclamations, Verstappen and Wu Shi once again rode side by side, entering Turn 5 one after the other.

This was a medium-to-high speed bend. Wu Shi firmly guarded his center line, glanced at the rearview mirror, but did not see Red Bull.

The narrow rearview mirror often resulted in situations where he couldn't see his opponent, so he could only rely on the airflow behind him to judge Verstappen's attack direction.

Whoosh!

Verstappen suddenly appeared from his right outside.

'He's still on the outside! What kind of monster is this Red Bull?!'

Wu Shi felt a chill run down his spine, but focused his attention on exiting the bend.

After the car passed the apex, he immediately squeezed towards Verstappen on the outside in order to get a faster exit speed.

Even though Verstappen kept getting closer to him from the outside, he still had to move to a more distant position because his path was being cut off.

Heh!

Verstappen rolled over the grass beyond the shoulder, the race car shaking and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The two vehicles pierced through the dust and smoke, their bodies shaking violently, like ferocious beasts exerting their full power!
After successfully completing Turn 5, Wu Shi was finally able to leverage the advantages of the upgraded W12 – top speed on the straight!
The Mercedes-Benz No. 59 accelerated rapidly, its engine roaring, and the tires rubbing against the ground produced a gruesome rubber smell.

Finally, in the middle of the straight section, Wu Shi gradually widened the gap between himself and Verstappen behind him.

"Oh! Red Bull is the slowest on the straightaway, Max can't keep up with Wu Shi, but the battle is far from over."

As the commentator said, the battle is far from over, and Red Bull's advantage lies in the corners!

The situation at Turn 5 just now gave us a glimpse into the situation: if Wu Shi can't pull away a bit more, he won't be able to take the lead without any worries.

Meanwhile, Hamilton, who had a rather mediocre start, secretly caught up.

He used the wake effect from the starting straight and the straight after Turn 5 to quickly close in on Verstappen.

Hamilton's heart pounded as he watched the Red Bull's shadow loom ahead!

This is your chance!

Verstappen glanced at the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye. He knew Hamilton was using red tires and might try to overtake him at any moment using Mercedes' straight-line speed!

So he had already figured out a way to deal with it. He followed closely behind Wu Shi, using the wake of Wu Shi to increase his speed, in order to compensate for the Red Bull's lack of straight-line speed.

When Hamilton had accumulated enough speed to pull away, the other driver pulled the front of the car out to the center line first.

This immediately blocked Hamilton's line.

Hamilton had to move the car further inside the lane.

The two cars waltzed on the straight, and then the three cars came to Turn 6 in a diagonal line.

Wu Shi's route was the best, and he was not affected by the curves.

But when Verstappen entered the corner from the center line, he approached him at a speed nearly 10 kph faster.

Hamilton, who was positioned at the very center of the court, had absolutely no advantage in the paint and was completely dominated by Verstappen!

Verstappen, driving a Red Bull, seemed like a god of war, ready to take on two Mercedes here!

After turning 6, the next step is the entrance to the 7th "U" turn, which is the lower half of the "S" shape.

Hamilton's previous inside advantage immediately disappeared, and Verstappen easily cut off his advantage accumulated on the straights.

Such terrifying suppressive force made Wu Shi, who was in front of him, feel threatened.

Because Verstappen actually wanted to attack him, who was on the inside line, from the center line of Turn 7!

The stability and speed in the Red Bull Bend are absolutely terrifying!

However, Wu Shi dared to take this route because he estimated that Verstappen wouldn't be able to get up.

The two cars were secretly competing, and it seemed that Wu Shi was about to be caught up to almost parallel.

Finally, we've reached the exit of turn 7!
Buzz!

Wu Shi stepped on the gas, the engine roared, the race car accelerated wildly, and rushed towards Turn 8, where he didn't need to release the accelerator.

Verstappen was once again left behind by Mercedes' powerful acceleration.

He failed to seize the opportunity in the corner, silently followed behind, and once again tried to use the speed brought by the slipstream to block Hamilton and overtake Wu Shi!
Hamilton's red tires have a significant advantage, especially in cornering acceleration!

After Turn 8, Mercedes No. 44 was already fast enough to perform a turnaround.

But Hamilton didn't make a move. He kept getting closer to Verstappen until they were very close and the downforce on the front wheels dropped significantly. Only then did Hamilton pull the car towards the inside line!
But he didn't expect that Wu Shi had already positioned the car at the center line, closer to the inside, in order to defend against Verstappen.

Hamilton wasn't confident he could charge forward through the narrow passage that remained!

Verstappen, ahead of him, did the same, using the slipstream to gain speed before pulling his head directly to the outside.

Because he pulled very hard, a considerable amount of track space was left in the middle.

His plan was clear: to trick Wu Shi into braking late at turn 9, and then use the outside cross line to overtake Wu Shi!
Wu Shi silently assessed Verstappen's situation behind him. When he reached the end of the straight, he slowed down as usual.

As the speed decreased, the Verstappen, which braked late, instantly pressed down on him.

However, Verstappen also needs to brake; at this point, erasing the gap is meaningless.

After slowing down, Wu Shi was able to enter the corner with ease, since he was on the inside line.

However, Red Bull's high-speed cornering performance left him speechless.

Verstappen, who braked late on the outside, turned into the corner at the same time as him.

In the footage, the entire Red Bull leans to the left due to lateral force, much like watching an SUV take a corner.

This is extremely rare in F1!

"Max is chasing Wu Shi on the outside of the Cops Corner (Turf 9), he's about to take the lead! My God, Red Bull's ability in high-speed corners is simply astonishing!"
"Lewis Hamilton is following behind Verstappen, but his car is very unstable due to the turbulence at the rear, and he definitely needs to slow down!"

As David passionately provided commentary, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the stands at Turn 9.

Most of them were Hamilton fans, but they were also amazed by Verstappen's superb technique.

The three cars then entered Highway Turn 9 in a diagonal pattern.

In the corner, the 59 Mercedes and the 33 Red Bull looked like they were about to collide!
But they finally pulled away just as they were about to collide after exiting the corner!
Even the shots directly facing the track convey the thrill and excitement!

Verstappen was coming out of the corner very fast, but he still didn't give up, because at this point his front wing was already next to Wu Shi's wing.

"Oh! Unbelievable! Red Bull's speed in the corners is so fast that it can directly compensate for Mercedes' advantage on the straights!"

"All three cars have exited Turn 9! Max Verstappen has the fastest exit speed! He's still frantically closing in on Wu Shi! Is he going to overtake Wu Shi here?!"
"No! He can't do it. Wu Shi's speed has increased, and Max can't catch up. The gap between the two is widening again!"

"Lewis Hamilton had a bad line just now, and he was left behind by the two world championship contenders ahead of him."

"But he didn't give up; he was still looking for an opportunity! He was using the softest red tires; would he find that opportunity?!"

David quickly finished reporting the situation on the field, and as soon as he finished speaking, the three of them sped towards Turn 13.

Several of the corners during this period were high-speed corners, and Verstappen was able to stay close to Wu Shi, which is enough to show how excellent Red Bull's current aerodynamic layout is!
However, being in the lead is being in the lead, and Wu Shi has too many ways to stop Verstappen, who is only slightly faster than him.

Verstappen cannot use forceful tactics at this point—such as driving into the paint—because if he does so, both he and Wu Shi will lose their rhythm.

Whether or not they can surpass the past is another matter, but Hamilton behind them will certainly reap the benefits.

This strange harmony lasted until the exit of Turn 13, and with the arrival of another long straight, Wu Shi once again widened the gap.

After struggling for almost a full circle, Verstappen realized he was completely unable to defeat Wu Shi and knew he had no chance to surpass him.

"Wu Shi held his position; his starts and defenses are always such a pleasure to watch!" David said.

While Hamilton was also rapidly closing in on Verstappen, the red-tire Mercedes managed to tie with the yellow-tire Red Bull at Turn 15.

Toto shook his head inwardly. This was too difficult. Judging from Hamilton's situation, Wu Shi would probably face even greater problems in tomorrow's main race!
After losing his last chance to overtake at Turn 15, Hamilton became more cautious.

Swish!
At the end of the first lap, Wu Shi maintained his lead and successfully widened the gap with Verstappen to 0.45 seconds in the second half.

Verstappen is second, followed by Hamilton, Leclerc, Alonso, Norris, Perez, Lecos, Vettel, and Russell.

Surprisingly, Brother Tou jumped from 11th place to 5th place!
This is the true power of red tires!
Entering the second lap, the track finally became a little calmer.

The director also began switching the replay perspective.

"Max Verstappen had the fastest start, Wu Shi was slightly later, but had better traction control and started first, so he was not overtaken by Verstappen."

"However, after the high-speed turns 1 and 2, Max's advantage became very obvious. Wu Shi relied on the slow exit rhythm of turn 3 to suppress Max, which was really amazing!"

David was finally able to explain the situation clearly.

Lewis Hamilton was a bit slow to react at the start, but he seized the opportunity while the two drivers ahead of him were battling in the corners, constantly closing the gap. He could have tried to overtake at Turn 9, but unfortunately his line wasn't good.

The three drivers in front are the most watched. In the replay of multiple corners, all three cars are driving with a great sense of speed and pressure.

Because the competition was so intense, Verstappen, who was on the outside of most of the corners, was forced to move a distance outside the kerb.

The dust and excitement of an F1 race is far greater than that of a rally!
After all, this is a sandstorm at 200 km/h!

Then the camera focused on TouGe, because TouGe is the role model for red tire starters!
"Alonso really hit the jackpot this time," the soldier said.

“It’s normal for red tires to have an advantage when starting, but I don’t know how they will degrade,” Fei Ge wondered.

"Well, last year Ferrari proved that a set of red tires could definitely run 17 or 18 laps without any problem, and it's still running on light fuel now," Haoran explained.

“I know he’ll definitely finish the race, but if his speed declines too much later on, it’ll be questionable whether Alonso can even hold onto his current position,” the soldier continued.

"But no matter what, Alonso definitely came out ahead," Fei Ge added.

"That's definitely a profit, haha." The soldier laughed it off.

On lap 3, as Verstappen could no longer rely too much on Wu Shi's slipstream, the gap he could create on the straights gradually widened.

Verstappen, however, maintained his distance by utilizing his advantage in high-speed corners, making him a truly formidable opponent.

In order to deal with Hamilton, he changed lanes left and right on the straight, thus disrupting the air in front of the old man and preventing him from having a stable wake.

It's fair to say that Verstappen used every rule he could find!

“Max, 0.7, DRS is about to activate, create distance,” Jonathan said to Wu Shi in TR.

"Copy, I'm pushing."

Wu Shi certainly pushed himself very hard, pushing himself to the limit on every bend, but even so, he only managed a draw with Verstappen.

At the end of the third lap, Wu Shi finally pulled Verstappen down to about 1.1 seconds, but he couldn't relax.

Because it's only a 17-lap race, Verstappen can push from start to finish, and he has to keep pushing!

At such close range, the slightest mistake could lead to utter ruin!

However, the arduous battles were no longer as sensorially impactful as the first lap.

However, the feeling of 20 drivers pushing at full power is indeed different from that of the main race.

Perhaps it was a psychological suggestion, but the audience felt that the wind generated by the speeding race cars was much stronger.

(End of this chapter)