Chapter 256: Mercedes Encounters Problems
Before the Grand Prix officially began, the Marussia F1 Team received good news.
Alexander Rossi from America raised a large sum of money to purchase a seat.
For a struggling team like Marussia, which faces immense financial pressure, accepting a pay driver can greatly alleviate their financial burden.
They did not refuse and confirmed that Alexander would replace Merhi for five races this year.
It was unclear whether this news was good or bad for Merhi.
After all, sitting in a Marussia F1 car offered no chance of scoring points; it was merely about finishing the race.
Regarding Renault, no new information was received in the paddock.
Whether he was preparing to acquire the Lotus F1 Team or terminate his partnership with Red Bull Racing, Renault made no statements.
The prolonged communication and arguments between them and Red Bull Racing even made the ever-smiling Ricciardo complain that it was like torture.
Clearly, the Red Bull Racing Team was fed up with the Renault engine.
There were outside speculations that the Red Bull Racing Team might partner with Scuderia Ferrari after 2016.
Of course, these news reports came from various sources and were generally treated as rumours, lacking any verifiable authenticity.
Red Bull Racing itself stated that if they didn't find a good engine supplier, they would withdraw from Formula 1 after 2016.
This statement was interpreted in various ways by different parties, and Wu Shi felt it was best to just listen and not take it too seriously.
Rosberg, having damaged his engine at the Monza Circuit, would be replacing his fourth power unit at the Singapore Grand Prix.
He had already reached the limit for power unit components; any future replacement of a power unit part would result in a grid penalty.
With seven races remaining in the season, it was unrealistic to complete them all with a single power unit.
This was another heavy blow for Rosberg.
Finally, Sauber F1 Team would also be introducing their new aerodynamic package.
This mainly involved a shorter nose cone, similar to those used by McLaren, Williams, and Red Bull Racing.
Williams also announced that they would bring some aerodynamic upgrades.
These mainly included the rear wing and sidepods.
Wu Shi and Massa had been testing this new package for the past two weeks.
After comprehensive evaluations, Wu Shi believed that this system showed improvement.
He indeed gained more downforce without a significant increase in drag.
This positive outcome was the result of engineers racking their brains.
Wu Shi merely provided some ideas.
His aerodynamic knowledge was far from professional, but he remembered some future design concepts.
He described a portion of these to the engineers, and after continuous design and calculations, the engineers produced these results.
It must be said that Formula 1 is incredibly complex.
Even if you present the answers to some teams, it's impossible to implement them immediately if the two car systems differ significantly.
Unless it's some plug-and-play black technology design.
Pure aerodynamic optimisation primarily relies on wind tunnel testing and manual calculations; it's a holistic engineering effort.
At the pre-race press conference, the top six drivers in the Drivers' Championship standings sat together.
Clearly, the interview focused more on the championship battle.
As the points leader, Wu Shi was naturally the first to be interviewed.
The host looked at Wu Shi:
"We see that your lead in the standings is no longer so significant.
"If you still don't win the championship in Singapore, and Lewis takes it, then you will lose another seven points, which will make your position precarious.
"We hear that you've made some package improvements. Will this provide you with enough help in the upcoming races?"
Wu Shi held the microphone, looked at Hamilton, and said:
"I've said before that when the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team drivers stop making mistakes and stop giving me any opportunities, it's actually very difficult for me to win the World Championship.
"And in the recent few races, Lewis has proven this point.
"So you can see my lead is constantly being eroded, which indeed puts a lot of pressure on us.
"Our entire team is trying every possible way to improve the car's performance to give me enough speed to contend with Mercedes' pursuit.
"We've been preparing this improvement for a very long time, and in internal testing, I believe its improvements are effective.
"But I don't think these advantages will help us completely defeat Mercedes.
"You know, no one in the paddock dares to say that right now."
Wu Shi smiled as he spoke.
The host nodded as he listened, and finally concluded:
"Yes, I also hope you can achieve a good result here.
"I still remember in 2014, you drove Rosberg's car on the Singapore track.
"That flying lap, you created an astonishing performance.
"Even now, I still believe everything you did back then was truly incredible."
The host's words resonated with the drivers present.
Driving an uncalibrated car in a practice session to contend for pole position was an unbelievable feat.
However, in reality, last year's Mercedes was simply too strong.
The host then asked Hamilton:
"Lewis, you are constantly moving towards your third World Champion title. A great opportunity is before you. What would you like to say to Wu Shi?"
Hamilton held the microphone, smiled at Wu Shi, and after a moment, thought it over:
"I want to tell him that he is a very excellent driver, truly excellent.
"Although I also achieved good results in my first F1 season, I was already over 20 years old then, and this guy is not even an adult yet.
"He still has unlimited potential in the future.
"He can at least race in the paddock for 20 more years, and 20 years is enough time for him to create many achievements.
"Finally, let me tell him, 'Go for it!'"
The host nodded and continued with the questions.
After the pre-race press conference, Hamilton's remarks sparked some over-interpretations.
Some people believed this was Hamilton telling Wu Shi not to contend for the World Championship this season.
But no matter how the outside world interpreted it, Wu Shi knew that on the Singapore track, his chances of achieving excellent results were much higher than on high-speed circuits like Monza and Spa-Francorchamps.
So the entire team was determined from the start, wanting to seize this rare opportunity.
When Friday's practice sessions arrived, the smoke and haze from the large fire had gradually dissipated.
Coupled with good quality floodlights, the entire circuit was very clear.
The drivers' visibility was largely unaffected.
At 6:00 PM on Friday, the First Practice Session (FP1) for the Singapore Grand Prix officially began.
Because of changes to the track's corners, everyone not only had to test the car during the First Practice Session but also find the new racing line.
Originally, the 2014 Singapore track (red section) after Turn 10 led into a "simple" right-hand corner.
But now, after the change, drivers need to pull the car to the left before turning in, and then turn right into the corner.
And this kind of "protruding" corner, turning right into it, is not so easy to operate.
After the change, the overall fluidity of the track worsened.
In fact, the Singapore track has always been altered in this area.
The organisers wanted to optimise this overtaking zone.
However, this change, while increasing speed when exiting Turn 12 onto Anderson Bridge, did not bring more overtaking opportunities.
Wu Shi himself felt that the Singapore organisers might be more concerned about preventing major accidents here.
After all, below Turn 11 is a river.
Given the track changes, previous experience couldn't fully match the entire circuit, so everyone needed to try new setups more.
Therefore, during the First Practice Session, almost all teams were constantly in and out of the pit lane, continuously modifying various car parameters.
For the drivers, they needed to figure out effective driving methods as quickly as possible during the First Practice Session.
If they didn't, the tuning direction might be affected.
After the First Practice Session began, misfortune still followed Red Bull Racing.
Kvyat only completed 8 laps during the entire First Practice Session due to a vehicle malfunction.
Outside speculation largely attributed this to an engine problem.
Ultimately, after the entire First Practice Session, both Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team cars still achieved the best results.
Rosberg led with 1 minute 47.995 seconds, ahead of Hamilton's 1 minute 48.314 seconds.
However, the First Practice Session results did not hold much reference value.
By the time of the Second Practice Session's (FP2) long-run tests, the true performance of each team would be revealed.
Both Mercedes drivers encountered some problems.
Their Pirelli tyres struggled to maintain stable operating temperatures.
Of course, Williams wasn't much better, facing not only the same tyre issues as Mercedes but also cornering stability problems.
In street circuits like Singapore, cornering stability is crucial.
After all, on wider tracks, even if your car's front or rear slides a bit, it's not likely to cause an accident.
But on a street circuit like Singapore, even the slightest slide could cause the car to collide with the barriers.
Especially when you are pushing to the limit.
Even Wu Shi could not tolerate this situation following him into qualifying.
Therefore, while almost everyone else completed around 30 laps of long-run testing, Wu Shi only completed 25 laps.
He returned to the pit lane multiple times to adjust the front and rear wing endplates.
In addition, tyre operating temperature could not be overlooked.
For this race, Pirelli provided red supersoft tyres and yellow soft tyres.
After actual testing, the supersoft tyres had a very narrow operating temperature window, possibly only around two degrees.
Wu Shi's solution was to soften the suspension as much as possible, which would allow the tyre temperature to be slightly more stable.
It was also because of his suggestion that he himself had to test multiple times.
Massa was unable to find the car's balance with such a soft suspension.
So, after the Second Practice Session, Williams hardly set any competitive times.
Instead, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari both showed good pace.
Kvyat topped the standings with 1 minute 46.142 seconds, with Räikkönen just 0.039 seconds behind.
Hamilton was fifth this time with 1 minute 46.479 seconds.
Rosberg was seventh, one position behind Wu Shi.
Massa only managed a time of 1 minute 47.684 seconds during the entire test, a full second behind Wu Shi at the front.
When Friday's two practice sessions ended, it was almost midnight.
Reporters began interviewing the drivers.
They interviewed several drivers, asking for their thoughts on the newly modified track.
Hamilton and Button both thought the change was not good.
Wu Shi was also asked, and the reporter's angle was rather peculiar.
The reporter asked: "In the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix practice session, you set a sufficiently fast lap time.
"Will changing the track like this have some adverse effects on you?"
Wu Shi rubbed his head. If the Singapore track were changed to its post-2023 layout, that would be ideal.
After all, that's what he was most familiar with.
If it was just these minor changes, it wouldn't make much difference to him.
"I feel it's all pretty much the same, you know, even last year I didn't get to run many laps on this track."
After answering, Wu Shi smiled at the reporter, indicating that he was finished.
He was eager to return to the team because there were still many unresolved issues with the car's setup.
The next day, at six in the evening, the Third Practice Session (FP3) began.
During this free practice session, everyone started testing their qualifying lap times.
Williams' two drivers adopted different setup modes this time.
Wu Shi preferred to have the tyre temperatures more stable, so that he could operate the car regardless of the situation.
If the tyres' temperature fluctuated greatly due to a too-stiff suspension, it would be almost impossible to drive.
However, a softer suspension drastically increases driving difficulty, which Massa considered very dangerous, and he also stated that it didn't stabilise the temperature by much.
Scuderia Ferrari was incredibly fast, with Vettel setting a 1 minute 45.682 seconds on supersoft tyres.
He was the only driver to break the 1 minute 45 second barrier.
But Mercedes encountered a big problem!
The unstable tyre temperatures, which hadn't been resolved in the Second Practice Session, became a major obstacle for them.
Hamilton only managed a 1 minute 46.802 seconds.
This time was even worse than his best time set on soft tyres during the Second Practice Session.
Clearly, controlling the supersoft tyre temperatures was more difficult for them than with soft tyres.
After Wu Shi adopted the new setup, he found that the tyre temperatures were still somewhat fluctuating and a bit too low.
However, this was much better than in the Second Practice Session, and he was third, trailing Kvyat by 1 minute 46.2 seconds.
So, after the Third Practice Session, both Mercedes and Williams were in a state of disarray.
"The suspension stiffness still needs to be set. It will be difficult for the tyres to reach operating temperature, and the grip and stability are too low," Wu Shi said.
The drawbacks of a soft suspension are very, very many, so it couldn't be softened any further.
"Too soft a suspension would directly make the car undriveable," Massa stated more directly.
In the Third Practice Session, his time was 1 minute 47.733 seconds, placing him 14th overall.
"We predict at least two pit stops will be needed in the Singapore Grand Prix."
Rodrigo paused, then said:
"All in all, let's solve the tyre problem first."
Everyone fell silent. Qualifying was less than an hour away. What could be done in that time?
"We can only work on the toe angle," Wu Shi said.
Toe angle is the angle between the car's direction of travel and the direction the tyres are pointing. It's an important parameter that affects a race car's stability.
The front wheels' toe angle is usually set to toe-out, which can improve steering sensitivity in corners.
But most teams will set an appropriate value and not too much toe-out.
Because that would lead to excessive tyre wear.
After all, if the tyres are not in a straight line with the car's direction of travel, it will definitely accelerate tyre wear.
However, this adjustment method can also increase tyre temperature.
"Is there enough time?"
"I have a good grasp of the previous parameters."
Wu Shi remembered all the suspension parameters from the three practice sessions and their impact on the entire car.
However, for the parameters of toe angle's impact on tyres, he had no corresponding data.
Perhaps by adjusting both, a relatively stable temperature control could be achieved.
No matter how ugly the car looked, it had to be able to go fast!
While other teams were preparing for their qualifying meetings, the Williams F1 Team was still tuning the car.
Currently, the most important task for the entire team of engineers was to calculate the temperature impact of different toe angles on the tyres.
And Wu Shi, in turn, would fit the data based on the required temperature differences for different suspension stiffnesses.
Because fitting the data required an optimal layout for the entire track, the computational workload was enormous.
Wu Shi and the engineers were all scratching their heads.
Fortunately, they finished this tuning before qualifying.