Chapter 163: Give Me a Chance to Push for Two Laps!
The two cars rocketed down the straight in parallel.
Approaching Turn 3, Wu Shi did exactly what was expected of him—he moved to the middle of the track to defend.
Rosberg didn't attack. The timing wasn't right.
But as he hit the brakes, something felt off.
The car ahead was unexpectedly slow.
The closing speed spiked in an instant.
Realizing a collision was imminent, Rosberg slammed on the brakes and barked over the radio:
Rosberg (team radio):
"What is he doing?!"
At the same moment, Wu Shi spoke calmly into his own radio:
Wu Shi (team radio):
"The car feels a bit unstable."
The moment the words left his mouth, he got back on the throttle, cleanly accelerating out of the corner and immediately opening a small gap—helped by Rosberg's sudden heavy braking.
The "instability" was nothing more than a self-preserving excuse.
Using small psychological feints to buy time, Wu Shi held the lead through the entire second sector.
This was Williams territory. Mercedes wouldn't gain much here, and Rosberg knew it.
But once they entered the third sector, the story changed.
After just Turns 11 and 12, Rosberg clawed back 0.12 seconds.
Then came the high-speed straight.
Wu Shi glanced in his mirrors as the silver Mercedes rapidly closed in under slipstream.
Is the gap really this big?
The thought unsettled him—and only strengthened his resolve.
Jonathan (team radio):
"Massa can't keep up. You can go to Mode Four."
Wu Shi understood immediately. Massa couldn't provide rear support anymore.
He didn't respond.
Instead, he attacked Turn 13 at the absolute limit, burning tire life to carve out a few more meters.
Only after stabilizing the car did he reply:
"I know."
Mode Four wasn't just aggressive—it was dangerous. Maximum engine deployment, extreme thermal stress, and a real risk of failure.
But there was no other way.
He adjusted the rotary switches.
The car surged forward.
And yet—in his mirrors—Rosberg was still right there.
Three corners remained before the main straight.
Could a Williams really hold off a Mercedes?
The performance gap was brutal. Skill alone couldn't erase it.
Fortunately, the steering wheel display still showed:
DRS DISABLED
Battery charge remained. Engine temps were acceptable.
Full throttle.
Down the pit straight, sparks flew from the plank beneath both cars. At the braking zone, Mercedes was still just outside attacking distance.
Rosberg hesitated. Mercedes wasn't deploying everything—whether due to reliability concerns or race management.
Even so, through the seven corners after the main straight, car number six closed relentlessly.
Jonathan (team radio):
"You can afford to be more conservative."
Wu Shi heard the instruction and understood the implication.
The strategy group had given up resisting Mercedes.
The gap was simply too large.
"Oh."
He dialed back the engine.
At Turn 8, the high-speed right-hander, Rosberg was almost on his gearbox. The difference between the two cars was obvious to everyone.
David Croft sighed on commentary:
"Wu Shi can't hold Rosberg back any longer."
The disappointment wasn't just about this fight—it was about the season itself. Once again, it looked like a two-car Mercedes show.
Approaching Turn 9, Wu Shi stayed wide—leaving the inside completely open.
Croft reacted instantly:
"He's given it up—no! He's switched lines! But Rosberg reads it perfectly and goes around the outside!"
Wu Shi attacked the apex from the inside, Rosberg hanging tough on the outside using raw power.
Turn 9 was right-handed.
Turn 10 immediately flipped left.
Wu Shi, now on the wrong side, was forced onto the longer line.
Only his superior exit traction saved him from losing the position.
But Turn 10 fed into a long, sweeping left-hander.
Rosberg hugged the inside.
Two-thirds through the curve, Mercedes powered past—no slipstream required.
"He's through—unfortunately," Croft said, shaking his head.
Race Control:
"DRS ENABLED."
The green indicator lit up.
Wu Shi's mind snapped back into focus.
There's still a chance.
Through Turns 11 and 12, he drove on instinct alone—brushing the barrier so closely that cameras mounted on the wall caught only a blur and violent vibration.
"My goodness! He's millimeters from the wall!" Croft shouted.
This suicidal precision prevented Mercedes from stretching the gap beyond one second.
DRS activated.
The Williams lunged forward, closing rapidly and pulling alongside three-quarters down the main straight.
Rosberg defended the middle.
Wu Shi didn't lift.
Why isn't he braking?! Rosberg panicked.
Wu Shi braked impossibly late.
The front tires locked briefly—thin trails of white smoke curling into the air.
Forced wide, Rosberg lost momentum.
On exit, Mercedes surged back with earlier throttle application.
This is it, Wu Shi thought.
He accelerated anyway.
The rear stepped out.
Wheelspin. Torque spike.
The front tires clawed the car back into line—balanced on the knife edge of adhesion.
Onboard cameras captured the impossible: as Mercedes prepared to pass, the Williams accelerated harder.
The crowd roared.
Side by side, they thundered toward Turn 14.
Wu Shi squeezed left—placing his rear tire precisely in front of Rosberg's.
A calculated psychological attack.
Turn 14 favored the inside—Williams survived.
Turn 15 flipped the advantage.
Rosberg blocked perfectly.
The position was gone.
Turn 16 followed—but Wu Shi didn't try to retake it.
He defended instead.
Mercedes crossed the detection line first.
Williams activated DRS.
Down the straight, Wu Shi flew past.
Lap 8.
Fifty laps remained.
How long could this last?
The soft tires were dying. Originally expected to last until Lap 15, they'd be finished by Lap 12 at this pace.
Low track temperature and the Safety Car favored a one-stop—but not like this.
Jonathan (team radio):
"You've just set the fastest lap."
Wu Shi blinked.
"What?"
Hamilton—out front—had lifted.
The gap was under a second.
Opportunity.
Through Turn 2, Wu Shi blocked aggressively and crossed the DRS detection point.
DRS armed again.
But Hamilton immediately pulled clear.
A final gift—nothing more.
From Turns 3 to 5, Rosberg had the advantage.
Wu Shi was breathing hard.
To fight on, he had to stay within one second until Turn 12.
Jonathan (team radio):
"Tire wear is critical. We should secure P3."
"Yeah."
But he didn't lift.
Third place?
If he could abandon second now, could he abandon first someday?
The team radios fell silent.
In the Williams pit, Claire Williams' smile vanished.
Croft praised his spirit.
Brundle was harsher:
"He's Don Quixote tilting at windmills. The car difference makes this meaningless."
David answered quietly:
"But what a fight he's given us."
Lap 11.
The gap stretched to 0.8 seconds.
One more lap and DRS would be gone.
Jonathan (team radio):
"How are the tires?"
Wu Shi:
"Better than Rosberg's."
A lie.
The grip was nearly gone.
Then—
Mercedes (team radio):
"Box. Box."
Rosberg peeled into the pit lane.
The silver car vanished.
Wu Shi exhaled.
Into the radio, he said quietly:
"Give me two laps to push."