Chapter 245: Wu Shi's Starting Miracle
After qualifying, the Mercedes Team was far from relaxed.
Rosberg and his race crew were reviewing the qualifying session.
He was once again nearly 0.5 seconds behind, a gap that was starting to feel a bit desperate.
The nickname 'Lewis One-Lap' was earned through repeatedly outperforming his teammates in qualifying.
"Our data simulations are always less precise than his," Rosberg commented.
"Yes, Lewis has an innate talent for understanding the circuit and precise control of the car," the Engineer couldn't help but sigh.
Rosberg was a data-driven driver; before each race, he would first deduce the best driving approach from theoretical data.
Then he would try to fit his driving to it.
In other words, before Hamilton set his pole position time, Rosberg himself found it difficult to calculate that lap time.
Rosberg was undoubtedly frustrated; his extensive time spent on analysis was completely overshadowed by someone else's flashes of inspiration.
"Relax a bit, at least Vettel's qualifying performance wasn't ideal; he's currently second," the Engineer consoled him.
Rosberg nodded, though in reality, this comfort was useless.
Did he need to fight for second?
Of course, he did; the team hoped for a one-two finish for their two drivers at the end of the season.
If Hamilton was first and he was second, it wouldn't matter.
But for him personally, he had already been second; what was the point of being second again?
The world champion title was his ultimate pursuit.
This was not only his pursuit but also his father's pursuit.
It was the shared wish of two generations!
Besides that, the pressure from competing with Hamilton since childhood also pushed him to want to prove himself.
Contending for the world champion title had become an obsession in his heart.
Click.
At that moment, Toto walked in.
"Nico, you performed well this race."
Toto pursed his lips; he said 'well' but didn't smile.
"Thank you," Rosberg smiled.
He still had some apprehension towards this boss.
After his losses in the previous few races, Toto had spoken with him individually.
It didn't matter if he was slower than his teammate in qualifying, but he couldn't be too slow!
If he couldn't push to the limit and left such gaps, Wu Shi would seize the opportunity to slip in.
When a Williams was sandwiched between two Mercedes cars, the entire race would be anything but peaceful.
"."
Toto patted Rosberg's shoulder and left the room.
Rosberg shrugged and said, "It seems he's not satisfied with my result, though I'm not satisfied myself."
"No, no, no, you should learn to bear with these things; everyone ultimately wants you to win the championship," the Engineer shook his head, comforting him.
Williams' post-qualifying meeting was not much more relaxed than Mercedes'.
Mercedes' speed advantage was formidable, and the data from the First and Second Practice Sessions was unsettling.
Massa's qualifying elimination; it was expected that this veteran would blame development.
Instead, he said, "I've found some speed and feel, but I still need to adapt. Many of the suggestions Wu Shi made are correct."
This was surprising, but whether it was a benevolent lie for team harmony or Massa genuinely felt that way, the oppressive atmosphere within the team since the Summer Break had indeed eased.
Jonathan sat in his seat, unmoved by the statement.
Because no matter how Massa perceived or thought about the matter, he was determined to allocate resources to unlock the team's potential.
Wu Shi's potential had not been fully unleashed.
This guy had an extremely strong sensitivity to the car; he could figure out how to make the car faster.
Previously, due to various concerns, the team hadn't adopted his suggestions.
Only by unconditionally trying and adopting them now would the car become faster!
If others couldn't drive this car faster, it only proved that others couldn't adapt to this car, not that there was anything wrong with Wu Shi's suggestions.
Wu Shi naturally didn't know what Jonathan was thinking. In fact, he was quite fair in making suggestions.
There was no need for extremes; no one wanted to compromise the car's stability.
Nor would the race car become incredibly formidable just because of a few extreme ideas biased towards his personal habits.
For the Williams Team, the best news was that management decided to go all-in this season.
This meant that even in the latter half of the season, development was still ongoing.
Some teams, for instance, would likely announce a halt to development soon to focus their efforts on the next season.
After a general review of the qualifying situation and with the development department having collected the data, the discussion shifted to tomorrow's main race.
Spa is a high-speed circuit with relatively high tyre wear.
For the 44-lap race, one-stop and two-stop strategies were anticipated.
However, given Spa's characteristics and the practice session conditions, a two-stop strategy was given higher priority.
Rosberg's tyre failure in the First Practice Session, although Pirelli claimed the tyre was cut by a sharp object, everyone still realized that they needed to be more conservative with tyre management this race—
It couldn't be said that all drivers from all teams were conservative; at least Wu Shi and Massa both believed that careful tyre management was essential.
Since Wu Shi and Massa both qualified in the top ten, they were required to start on the soft tyres used in Q2.
Therefore, the choice of compound after the first stop was worth considering.
Generally, if the soft tyre's speed advantage was more significant, switching to softs again would be better to preserve performance in the second stint.
But one could also use medium tyres for a longer second stint, in exchange for a final sprint on soft tyres.
Due to the circuit's characteristics and lap count at Spa, the opposite approach might also be viable:
Start with a solid stint on mediums, then switch to softs for a late-race sprint—in short, prioritise pace at every stage!
Of course, as the third-place starter, if Wu Shi maintained position off the line, he could focus entirely on the two Mercedes drivers ahead.
The only concern was that Williams' tyre degradation was higher than Mercedes', a limitation they couldn't easily overcome.
The next day, the weather in Belgium was good.
Verstappen was penalized ten places for changing power unit components and would start towards the back of the grid.
But the two McLaren cars had made even more component changes.
Alonso and Button combined were penalized a total of 105 places!
In comparison, Verstappen's ten-place penalty seemed insignificant next to those two world champions.
Shortly after the formation lap began, Hülkenberg reported over the radio: "NO POWER – engine not responding."
Soon, the team told him to return to the pit lane for checks.
But as he neared the pit entry, they revised their instruction: "Stay out, try to reset systems and prepare for the start."
This decision was reasonable—Hülkenberg was set to start 11th, and rejoining from the pits would put him at a massive disadvantage.
If the issue resolved itself once the race started, it would be a better outcome.
Most importantly, telemetry data showed no major faults, so the team couldn't identify the exact cause.
Encountering technical issues right before the race was truly frustrating.
However, other drivers behind Hülkenberg—including Kvyat and Ericsson—were told by their teams to capitalise on any opportunity at the start.
On the grid straight, Hamilton slowed progressively to take his position on the right side of pole, angling his car slightly left towards Turn 1.
Rosberg took his place on the left of the front row, angled slightly right.
Wu Shi looked at the two Mercedes cars ahead and felt a surge of anticipation—let them focus on each other; the more pressure they were under, the better for him.
As all cars took their grid positions and the start sequence prepared to begin, Jonathan told Wu Shi over the radio:
"Hülkenberg's car can't be restarted. We'll be doing a second formation lap – use it to rewarm your tyres and brakes. No adjustments possible now, stick to our pre-race plan."
Immediately, two green lights illuminated while three yellow lights flashed, indicating the need for a second formation lap.
Hülkenberg's car was moved to the edge of the track, completely immobile.
But during this second formation lap, Sainz radioed his team: "Losing power – same issue as Nico!"
"What's going on today?! Two cars with power failures!" one engineer exclaimed.
"Did they push too hard in pre-race setup? Looks like they've run out of steam already, hahaha!" another team member joked.
Hülkenberg's car was pushed back to the garage, and Toro Rosso instructed Sainz: "Return to pits, retire the car – can't fix in time."
Both cars were classified as DNS (Did Not Start) rather than DNF (Did Not Finish), as they withdrew before the race began.
Finally, with no further issues, the five red lights illuminated to start the race sequence.
Wu Shi glanced at Rosberg on his left—after the extra formation lap, the Mercedes driver had straightened his car on the grid, as had Hamilton ahead.
The five red lights lit up one by one, then went out simultaneously. THE RACE IS ON!
The Belgian Grand Prix had officially started.
Wu Shi released the main clutch paddle with the secondary bite point optimally set, while his right foot perfectly controlled engine RPM.
VROOM!
His start was powerful and precise.
As expected, both Mercedes cars had slow getaways—their starting systems had shown issues in practice, and with no last-minute adjustments possible, their launches were poor.
Wu Shi's sharp reactions and precise control sent the #59 Williams surging forward; he overtook Rosberg within seconds.
Rosberg attempted to close the gap and squeeze him towards the right side of the track, but Wu Shi was already ahead and held his line firmly.
Now the bigger challenge lay ahead: how to attack Hamilton!
While Hamilton's start was slightly better than Ros start was slightly better than Rosberg's, it was still below his usual standard – an opportunity not to be missed!
In an instant, Wu Shi spotted an opening on the right and committed to it immediately.
His launch advantage was so great that after two car lengths, he was side-by-side with Hamilton's front wheels!
But his initial burst of speed faded, and Hamilton began to recover momentum.
Hamilton chose not to defend by squeezing Wu Shi—doing so would only leave space for Rosberg on the left. Instead, he focused on positioning for Turn 1.
The key was to hold the middle line into the right-hand first corner, which would block any overtaking attempt.
Hamilton shifted slightly left to cover the inside, and Wu Shi wisely tucked in behind him to maintain momentum.
Behind them, chaos was unfolding.
Grosjean was forced towards the middle by a fast-starting Ricciardo from the right, and in doing so, pushed Bottas wide.
Rosberg fought to hold his position, blocking Grosjean and finding himself wheel-to-wheel with Ricciardo.
As Rosberg moved towards the middle to defend, he left space on the left – space that Pérez exploited to charge through.
In the blink of an eye, they reached Turn 1, with the entry packed tightly with cars.
Wu Shi followed Hamilton as he turned left into the corner, using the Mercedes to shield himself from any possible attack from behind.
Hamilton took the inside line – fast into the corner but slower on exit – which played into Wu Shi's hands.
As soon as Hamilton accelerated out of the corner, Wu Shi used the clear racing line to carry more speed.
VROOM!
He pulled away from the pack behind, staying right on Hamilton's gearbox as they exited Turn 1.
The battle behind was intense:
Bottas had dropped significantly with his poor start.
Ricciardo had moved from seventh to challenge for third.
Grosjean made a small mistake and lost positions.
Pérez, with a perfectly judged line, was now alongside Rosberg.
The commentator's voice crackled with excitement:
"Oh! OH! Mercedes have another disastrous start!
"Wu Shi flies past Rosberg – what a launch!
"Rosberg is struggling already!
"Ricciardo is lightning quick – he's past Grosjean and up to third from seventh!
"Can he take third from Rosberg?
"Rosberg tries to block on the inside, but Grosjean is right there – no room to move!
"Bottas is pushed wide and dropping back!
"Look at Pérez on the left – he's charging through!
"Three cars side-by-side into Turn 1 – who will come out ahead?!
"Hamilton and Wu Shi are already clear of the pack!
"Rosberg holds the middle line – can he keep third?
"NO! Ricciardo gets past!
"Pérez goes around the outside and takes both of them!
"Rosberg has fallen from second to fifth – incredible scenes!"
The commentator paused as the field settled into a line through Turns 2-4, but only for a moment:
"Wu Shi is right on Hamilton's tail – using the slipstream on the Kemmel Straight to build speed!
"The Williams is set up for high speed – can he make a move before Turn 5?!
"He's alongside! Wu Shi pulls level with Hamilton approaching the braking zone for Turn 5!
"He's on the inside – braking later!
"HE DOES IT! He completes the overtake into the right-hand corner!
"But can he hold the car under braking?!"
SCREECH!
A small puff of white smoke from the tyres – not a lock-up, but a sign of maximum braking effort. Wu Shi knew exactly what he was doing; he wouldn't repeat his mistake from the Hungaroring.
The overtake was clean, but the battle wasn't over.
As they entered the left-hand Turn 6 immediately after, Hamilton dived down the inside, riding the kerbs to regain position.
But the kerbs upset his car's balance, and he lost front grip on exit.
Wu Shi carried more speed through the corner and accelerated hard on the short straight between Turns 6 and 7.
WHOOSH!
He dived back inside into Turn 7 and retook the lead, pulling clear as they exited the complex of corners!
"MY GOODNESS – A MIRACLE! WU SHI'S STARTING MIRACLE!
"He's done it again! From third to first in just a few corners!
"His starting ability and race craft are extraordinary!
"Who could have imagined he'd overtake both Mercedes cars so early in the race?!"
The commentator's voice was hoarse with excitement, shouting over the roar of the engines!