Chapter 261: Can Be Faster
During the break after practice, most drivers didn't rest but continued discussing qualifying with their Engineers.
At 3 PM, Q1 of qualifying began, and the pit lane light turned green.
Max Verstappen was the first to head onto the track, with Carlos Sainz Jr. right behind him.
Wu Shi, on the other hand, waited for the two Mercedes drivers to exit the pits first.
Soon after, Verstappen set a time of 1 minute 35.415 seconds, temporarily taking the lead.
Daniil Kvyat was second, while Romain Grosjean and Sainz had less ideal times, placing only third and fourth, a full 0.5 seconds behind.
Nico Rosberg, who came out later, also completed his flying lap, surging to first with a time of 1 minute 33.961 seconds.
But just half a minute later, Lewis Hamilton surpassed his teammate with a time of 1 minute 33.595 seconds.
Just when it seemed the two Mercedes drivers would solidify their positions, Wu Shi also started pushing hard in Q1.
Whoosh!
He topped the leaderboard with 1 minute 33.301 seconds!
"Oh, this is exciting! It looks like these three drivers are all aiming for pole position!"
Q1 had just begun, but the intensity between the drivers was already very high.
After completing his valid timed lap, Wu Shi did not return to the pit lane like Hamilton or Rosberg.
He was still flying on the track; the lack of long-distance tyre testing and the need for a deeper understanding of the track's details required further work.
Although the Suzuka Circuit's surface had been re-laid, it was still quite rough, which caused significant tyre wear.
Based on the practice data, Wu Shi generally concluded that hard tyres would be more suitable for long runs.
However, if one wanted to be at the front, they would have to use the medium tyres, as the hard tyre's speed had a considerable gap compared to the medium tyres.
In several high-speed corners, the tyres' grip combined with aerodynamics was essential to achieve good speed.
After running five more laps, Wu Shi returned to the pit lane.
Jonathan walked over and leaned in, saying:
"How do the tyres feel? What do you think the strategy for the race should be?"
"White-white-orange, or white-orange-orange. I think the latter would be better, but the former might be more conducive to holding position," Wu Shi said.
"Then let's wait for the qualifying results. How much more speed do you have left?" Jonathan asked.
"I'm not sure. I just ran a few laps, and the track conditions are still improving.
"Especially, the standing water on some curbs is decreasing. It's estimated that once these areas dry, times could be 0.5 to 0.8 seconds faster, but that's not fully guaranteed."
Wu Shi thought for a moment and said, because of yesterday's rain, the track grip situation was extremely complex.
Some curbs looked dry but were actually very slippery.
And if you slipped, it was easy to go onto the grass, and grass soaked with rainwater was even more slippery!
Therefore, as track conditions continuously improved, it would become easier to drive.
"Okay, I understand."
Jonathan returned to the control desk.
When there were 8 minutes left in Q1, the two Ferrari drivers finally decided to come out.
But Sebastian Vettel's speed was not fast, only setting a time of 1 minute 34.431 seconds.
Kimi Räikkönen was the same, only managing 1 minute 34.171 seconds.
Clearly, after Singapore, Ferrari's situation had returned to its previous state.
Immediately, the two Mercedes drivers came out again.
Wu Shi was not planning a second flying lap, so he watched their onboard footage the entire time.
Just by watching the video, he could tell that Mercedes' aerodynamics were better than Williams'.
However, their stability in corners was still inferior to Ferrari and Red Bull.
But the latter two were completely unable to match Mercedes in their exit rhythm from corners; the engine gap would be very noticeable on such a high-speed track.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Rosberg crossed the line first, returning to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1 minute 33.015 seconds.
However, Hamilton, who was behind, repeated the previous scenario, immediately setting a time of 1 minute 32.844 seconds to claim first place.
Wu Shi saw this result, squinting, unable to comment.
"Mercedes has returned to its dominant position on the track!"
"Still too strong! So powerful even in Q1! It seems Mercedes is determined to get pole position!"
Everyone was shocked by Mercedes' excessively fast lap times.
"Relax, our predicted lap times are not slower than this," Jonathan told Wu Shi.
"Phew, I understand. I just need to run my race to the best of my ability," Wu Shi replied.
In the final moments of Q1, Marcus Ericsson spun, misjudging the grip of the ground.
Verstappen, due to a vehicle malfunction, stopped his car in the middle of the track, triggering a yellow flag.
Q1 was stopped 30 seconds early.
The last two Marussias, two Saubers, plus McLaren's Jenson Button were eliminated.
Speaking of Button, many media outlets recently reported that he would retire at the end of this season because McLaren could not provide a competitive car.
After a 7-minute break, Q2 began.
This time, Hamilton and Rosberg were out early, and Wu Shi still followed the two Mercedes drivers closely.
As if to respond to Hamilton's lap time in the previous session, Rosberg was the first to set a time of 1 minute 32.632 seconds.
This was already 0.2 seconds faster than the fastest lap in Q1!
Most of the Williams Team members looked serious after seeing this lap time.
Claire paced back and forth nervously.
Jonathan clasped his hands, resting his chin on them, waiting for the data on the screen; Mercedes' speed still far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Hamilton's lap was a bit worse than his teammate's, trailing by 0.157 seconds.
But his time of 1 minute 32.789 seconds still stood out above the rest.
It was thought that Wu Shi, running last, wouldn't bring any more surprises.
But when the white Williams crossed the line, he came in third with a time of 1 minute 32.801 seconds!
Everyone immediately realised that there might still be a chance!
Jonathan also breathed a slight sigh of relief seeing this data; Wu Shi's prediction was accurate, he still had more to give.
At the end of Q1, Wu Shi said he would be 0.5 to 0.8 seconds faster, and now he was already 0.5 seconds faster.
If the remaining 0.3 seconds still existed, then there was definitely a chance to contend for pole position!
"Oh! Incredible! Wu Shi still shows enough speed to challenge Mercedes!
"Are we going to witness three cars fighting for pole position in the upcoming Q3!!!
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm already excited!"
The commentator, who had been mostly subdued during qualifying, suddenly raised his voice, making it sound like the race had already begun!
However, when Wu Shi returned to the pit lane and learned of the two Mercedes drivers' lap times, he wasn't as excited as the commentator.
"This is a very difficult gap to overcome," he told Jonathan.
"Yeah, we all know that, so just run your race in your best state, as you said before!" Jonathan replied.
The reason Wu Shi believed this gap was difficult to overcome was that the track conditions were not as good as imagined.
Furthermore, he pushed this lap far more to the limit than other drivers, completely unlike a Q2 approach.
After all, in Q2, front-running drivers would hold back slightly to reduce the risk of mistakes.
"We're already set up for qualifying, and if we don't get pole position, the loss will be huge."
Claire said to Rod, the chief Engineer, not without worry.
"There's nothing we can do now; it's all up to him."
Rod crossed his arms, staring intently at the screen in front of him.
The three dominant drivers returned to the pit lane after completing their valid laps.
The other drivers gradually started their flying laps.
Felipe Massa achieved a good time, placing fourth, and thus returned to the pit lane early.
When Q2 was just past halfway, the two Ferrari drivers finally came out.
Vettel's lap resulted in a time of 1 minute 33.844 seconds, placing him seventh, which was not ideal.
Even if they didn't have to push as hard in Q2, the speed shown by the two Ferrari drivers was enough to indicate that their competitiveness in this qualifying session was not as strong as imagined.
This was normal; just as Williams gambled on qualifying, Ferrari might be using a setup more geared towards the race.
Kimi Räikkönen's speed, however, was quite good, setting a time of 1 minute 33.361 seconds to reach 4th place, pushing Massa down.
In the last two minutes of Q2, the top 6 drivers were all in the pit lane.
They had only run one flying lap, and since their positions were secure, they clearly weren't planning a second flying lap.
The other 9 drivers continued to push, fighting for their last chance.
Red Bull, which had been relatively competitive at the Singapore Grand Prix, found themselves struggling again here.
Kvyat first reached 8th place with a time of 1 minute 34.201 seconds.
But he was then pushed down by his teammate, who set a time of 1 minute 34.153 seconds.
Sergio Pérez also showed good speed, pushing Kvyat down another position.
One after another, it really made the Red Bull team sweat.
Fortunately, at the last moment, no one again surpassed Kvyat.
Valtteri Bottas, although he improved his fastest lap, only managed to push his teammate Romain Grosjean out of tenth place.
He did not threaten Kvyat.
Bottas snatched the last ticket to Q3.
In this qualifying session, Romain Grosjean, Nico Hülkenberg, Carlos Sainz Jr., Fernando Alonso, and Max Verstappen were eliminated.
Verstappen's car issue was not resolved, so he did not participate in Q2.
"Bottas's single-lap ability is still good; you often see him being faster than Grosjean," the commentator mentioned as Bottas entered Q3.
The break between Q2 and Q3 was slightly longer, 8 minutes.
But it was almost time for the final ranking battle, and no one could truly rest and relax.
Even Bottas, who barely squeezed into Q3, still had a chance to fight for sixth or seventh place.
This meant there were no slackers in this Q3; everyone was fighting for their desired ranking.
Saturday's most intense 12 minutes arrived.
Rosberg and Hamilton were still on the track early, and everyone used the softer medium tyres.
Wu Shi, however, did not follow his previous decision and waited a little while before heading onto the track.
His first flying lap would likely be quite late.
During the warm-up lap, he directly revealed the line he intended to take—
He had no choice; he needed to reconfirm whether his most extreme idea in his mind could be realised.
After the warm-up and flying laps of the other drivers, the track conditions changed again, and the overall change was positive.
Rosberg, who was out first, quickly completed his warm-up lap and began his flying lap.
The Suzuka Circuit has a very long main straight, where DRS fully open can reach speeds of over 330 kph.
Rosberg, driving the Mercedes, even reached a top speed of 337 kph before the braking zone.
Then, he braked hard and turned into the right-hand corner.
Due to the high entry speed and aggressive braking, the front wheels would have slightly insufficient steering here.
But Mercedes' powerful front wing downforce compensated for some of the grip loss, allowing the front wheels to handle greater steering torque.
Rosberg turned the car through the corner.
Upon exiting the corner, his speed dropped to 222 kph, but he still needed to slow down further.
Because Turn 2 is a combination corner connected to Turn 1, he had to slow down to enter the U-shaped Turn 2.
After exiting Turn 2, he would get a valuable acceleration opportunity; after this throttle application came a series of 'S' curves.
The requirements for brake balance and differential parameters in these corners were different from Turn 1, but the difference was not very significant.
Therefore, most drivers would complete their settings before entering Turn 1 and then wouldn't change them much.
Rosberg was the same; after twisting through four corners, he arrived at Turn 7.
Only then did Rosberg begin to adjust his brake balance.
Mercedes' overall balance was excellent, so there was naturally no need for the drivers to constantly adjust parameters.
Rosberg exited Turn 7 and drove smoothly all the way.
It wasn't until he entered Turn 11 from Turn 10 that his left wheel briefly locked up, causing a momentary loss of vehicle balance due to the right-then-left sequence.
However, it was harmless, and the surging power from the engine immediately propelled him towards Turn 12 after exiting the corner.
For the rest of the track, Rosberg made no further significant mistakes, right until the finish line!
Whoosh!
1 minute 32.584 seconds!
This time undoubtedly secured the first position.
After marveling at the potential Mercedes could still extract, everyone's gaze immediately turned to Hamilton.
"The only competitor for Mercedes in qualifying is another Mercedes."
The commentator made an unequivocal conclusion.
"Aren't you rooting for Wu Shi anymore?"
"His last lap was only 32.8 seconds."
"You were just saying Wu Shi could compete for pole position?"
"Well, I guess my voice was a bit too loud then, hahaha!"
After seeing Rosberg's time, the commentator's expectations for Wu Shi dropped.
After all, in Q2, Rosberg had already set a time of 1 minute 32.632 seconds.
Now he had improved by about 0.05 seconds, and by the second flying lap, he would likely be even faster!
And for Wu Shi to achieve that time, he would need to improve by another 0.22 seconds!
Half a minute later, Hamilton crossed the line with a time of 1 minute 32.660 seconds.
"Rosberg is in exceptionally good form this Grand Prix!"
This was a clever way to phrase it, only saying positive things while implying the negative.
Rosberg's good form, conversely, meant Hamilton's form was somewhat lacking.
"But don't worry, this is just the first timed lap; for the second flying lap, they will most likely try again with new tyres."
"Hey, let's look at Wu Shi; why is he doing an extra warm-up lap?"
"Oh! It's Massa! He's waiting for Massa!"
"Is he going for a slipstream?!"
The slipstream strategy is not forbidden by the race committee, but it's not something that can be done anytime.
After all, it requires some sacrifice from the driver providing the slipstream, as well as extremely precise coordination.
And in the recent team radio, no one had heard any instructions from the Williams Team.
This meant it was essentially something that had been decided before qualifying.
Wu Shi followed behind Massa, and the DRS and slipstream gave his car unparalleled speed.
By the mid-section alone, he had increased his speed to 336 kph.
Immediately after, he pulled out.
This is also a crucial point to note when slipstreaming.
If the trailing car doesn't pull out before a corner, it will encounter relatively turbulent air.
This would lead to a severe loss of downforce on entry, making it counterproductive.
And Massa, to let Wu Shi pass smoothly, had to lift off the throttle early.
As soon as he lifted, the DRS automatically closed, meaning he couldn't do a flying lap that round.
Slowing down the rhythm like this is something that only good teammates would agree to.
After all, time in Q3 is precious.
Before reaching the braking zone for Turn 1, Wu Shi's top speed reached an astonishing 340 kph!
This not only meant his top speed was faster but also that he maintained a relatively faster speed for a longer distance on the track.
Screech!
Heavy braking instantly reduced the speed to over 200, while turning right.
Severe understeer would trouble every driver.
Wu Shi was no exception.
His brake migration settings were higher, so the rear wheels bore more braking torque at this moment, while the front wheels struggled to turn with their limited grip.
Screech!
Wu Shi's eyes were fixed on the track, his steering as precise as a clock's gears, guiding the car into the corner without the slightest deviation.
Only such a decisive manoeuvre could maintain that balance.
Corner entry was just the beginning; during corner exit, he had already started adjusting the vehicle parameters.
For the subsequent 'S' curve, he would be able to complete it with more suitable settings.
Whoosh!!
The car sped past at 180-220 kph, and upon exiting Turn 7, Wu Shi pressed the throttle earlier.
The acceleration mid-corner almost exhausted the tyres' lateral grip.
The tyres suffered the most brutal abuse!
After exiting the corner, the entire car continuously accelerated, proving to be slightly faster than Rosberg.
Jonathan quietly watched the telemetry data.
Lower downforce than Mercedes would make cornering more difficult but would also bring better acceleration and top speed.
Soon, they arrived at the Turn 10-11 combination.
The car went from right to left, much slower than Rosberg.
However, because of a better entry rhythm, Wu Shi started accelerating early upon corner exit!
Wu Shi was doing everything possible to compensate for the car's lack of downforce!
Since there wasn't enough downforce on entry, he would enter slowly and exit quickly, thereby striving for a more balanced speed.
Roar roar!!
The engine roared as the car sped through the high-speed Turn 12.
The commentators glanced at the real-time timing; it looked similar to Rosberg's.
"Wu Shi's lap is much more extreme than Rosberg's."
"Of course, Williams is inherently slightly weaker than Mercedes, so only more extreme driving can lead to faster speeds!"
"He should save this for the next flying lap; securing a 33-second time on this lap would be the optimal strategy."
When the broadcast camera showed Wu Shi's T-cam view, everyone felt his choice was too risky.
However, in Wu Shi's view, for both flying laps, he had to do it this way!
Only by doing so could he understand the limits more clearly! Only then would he have a chance to surpass it on the next flying lap!
Screech!
The Turn 13 and 14 combination, which tested the car's performance across the entire track, arrived.
The entire car seemed to tremble, maintaining high-speed balance, until the front of the car aligned with the long straight ahead, and this struggle and resistance finally ended.
Roar!
Full acceleration!
Turn 15, the car flashed by in an instant.
Only the last three corners remained on the track, and everyone held their breath, anticipating the upcoming result.
Clack clack clack!
Turn 16, the curb was taken hard, and the stiff suspension transmitted all the vibrations back.
The car violently shook as it completed the turn, then immediately headed straight for the curb of Turn 17.
Here, Wu Shi was slightly more cautious, which directly resulted in stable grip for the front tyres.
Vroom vroom roar roar!
Eagerly applying the throttle, the rear-wheel torque built up, propelling the entire race car forward.
Whoosh! Screech!
The rear tyres lost grip, spinning slightly, but the front wheels pointed unequivocally towards the final corner.
Jonathan instinctively clenched his fists, only letting out a sigh of relief after the car completed its entry into the corner.
He almost lost control just now!
Whoosh!
Wu Shi crossed the finish line.
The scoreboard updated.
P1: Wu Shi 1:32.581
Three thousandths of a second!
Clap clap clap!!!
Everyone at Williams applauded, and Wu Shi's race crew mechanics even leaped from their seats.
"Excellent, you did a great job! You are temporarily in P1!"
Jonathan also spoke excitedly.
But after a brief moment of excitement, he immediately calmed down and said:
"Come back after cooling down; we need to prepare for the next flying lap."
"Copy," Wu Shi replied.
At the same time, the Mercedes team radio also sounded.
"Nico, Wu Shi has beaten your time by three thousandths of a second."
"Oh! Oh! I made mistakes on the exit of Turn 11 and Turn 16. Do I need to try again?!" Rosberg immediately said.
"Yes, you need to try again, but the track is very congested right now; you need to come back first."
"OK."
Meanwhile, Bono was also communicating with Hamilton:
"Lewis, Wu Shi is 0.079 seconds faster than you, but you still have a chance."
"Yes," Hamilton said over the team radio.
Three minutes later, Massa also completed his first flying lap.
1 minute 33.337 seconds, provisionally fifth, 0.092 seconds behind Vettel.
Everyone was extremely close.
Due to the variety of strategy choices for the main race, the teams would not hesitate to use another set of medium tyres for a flying lap.
Soon, all drivers completed their first flying lap, and track conditions continued to improve.
With about three minutes remaining in the session, all drivers began to prepare to go out again.
Rosberg and Bottas were the first to emerge, with Hamilton following closely behind.
Wu Shi also went out at the same time.
The four drivers were warming up their tyres in staggered time slots.
But just as several drivers were starting their flying laps, a yellow flag suddenly appeared in the third sector.
"OHHHH!!! NO!!! Kvyat has crashed into the wall!"
The commentator shouted loudly.
"Yellow flag! Definitely a yellow flag, it's over! Nico and Lewis's flying laps are ruined, their last flying laps are ruined!"
Hearing this excited shout, everyone watching the race immediately realised, could it be!
"Yes! Yes! Q3 is going to end under a yellow flag!
"The two Mercedes drivers won't have a chance to improve their times!
"This qualifying pole position will once again fall to Wu Shi!
"This extremely lucky young man, he's got pole position again!"
"Oh oh oh oh!!!"
The commentator was full of passion, and Jonathan also said excitedly over the mic:
"Kvyat crashed into the tyre wall, at the position of Turn 16-17. Stop, congratulations! P1.
"P1!
"You are P1!"
"Phew! Phew! WHAT? WHAT?"
Wu Shi, who had just completed the corner, couldn't suppress his gasps.
On the other side, Rosberg, upon receiving the news, immediately shouted over the team radio:
"WHY? WHY?!"
He had finally entered a period of excellent feel, but immediately faced this situation.
Compared to Rosberg's excitement, Hamilton was much quieter.
After a long pause, he finally said over the team radio:
"Did we miss our chance again this time? I could have been faster; I should have been faster on the first flying lap."
Kvyat's accident directly declared the end of Q3.
Only a minute and a half remained in Q3, and there wasn't enough time to completely clear the debris from the track.
Logically, this should have directly announced the end of qualifying.
However, the race committee remained silent, still waiting, and then several marshals even went onto the track to clear debris.
Rosberg, who had already abandoned that lap, came over and saw this, immediately shouting:
"There are marshals on the track, why are people clearing the track now? This is too dangerous! Too dangerous!"
However, the race committee paid no attention until the time for Q3 completely ran out.
The track was still not cleared.
Indeed, in just one minute, the marshals couldn't do much.
Finally, the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying ended.
Wu Shi secured pole position!
PS: Verstappen was penalised three grid positions for the main race for parking his car in a dangerous area during qualifying.
And Kvyat, due to extensive crash damage requiring a chassis change, had to start from the pit lane.