Chapter 262: Strat 3
After qualifying, the three drivers attended a small press conference.
Wu Shi sat in the middle of the sofa, his racing suit stripped to the waist. As his body cooled down, the flush on his face slowly receded.
Seeing all three seated, the host began as usual.
"Today we witnessed a truly spectacular qualifying performance!"
"Wu Shi, you ultimately secured pole position by a razor-thin margin."
"From the very beginning of qualifying, we saw that you seemed very confident about this race, aiming for pole position."
"Ultimately, you achieved the pole position you sought, and also demonstrated sufficient speed."
Wu Shi held the microphone, nodded, and said:
"Yes, when we arrived at Suzuka Circuit, we knew that our speed was not slow."
"Whenever this happens, I consider it an opportunity, and I must seize every opportunity to maintain my advantage going forward."
"To finally secure this pole position, I should thank my teammate, who provided me with a slipstream."
"Helping me overcome the difficult 0.2 seconds."
The host listened attentively and continued:
"We heard that your car setup is geared towards qualifying, which is why you showed more speed in qualifying."
"But in tomorrow's Grand Prix, you might face a very tough challenge."
"Nevertheless, you have no one in front of you, so you can still remain optimistic."
Wu Shi smiled, scratched his nose, and said:
"Yeah."
"Isn't contending for pole position precisely to gain an advantage in the Grand Prix?"
"I came here to win the race, and no matter what, I will take every lap seriously."
The host also smiled and said, "Yes, that is every driver's goal."
He then turned the conversation to Rosberg, saying:
"Nico, as I just mentioned, you lost pole position by a tiny margin. Where do you think you lost it today?"
Rosberg was not too disheartened; he seemed to have adjusted his mindset:
"There were some balance issues at Turn 11 and Turn 16. Uh, it was very unfortunate, but sometimes things just happen that way."
"And we prepared for a second flying lap, and the track conditions were gradually improving. Wu Shi came out much later than us."
"All in all, we lost this qualifying session by a very small margin."
Host: "Yeah, based on your current understanding of the car this weekend, how do you feel overall?"
Rosberg: "I feel very good. I've had strong speed all weekend. If there hadn't been any unexpected issues in qualifying, I don't think we would have lost pole position."
Finally, the host looked at Hamilton:
"Lewis, in qualifying here this year, you still weren't faster than your teammate. We also know there were some issues in qualifying, so you couldn't do any better."
Hamilton was expressionless, but upon closer inspection, one could see he was in a very bad mood. He said:
"Yeah, in this race, whether it's the team or me, I don't think we had any problems."
"We still followed the normal plan for each step, but whenever these situations arise, there are always some unexpected incidents."
Host: "Starting from the second row, on Suzuka, a track that is relatively difficult to overtake on, how do you think you will perform in tomorrow's race?"
Lewis: "Uh, I will do my best to achieve the position I should. Our car has very good speed here."
"Although only one meaningful practice session was held throughout the weekend, we still received quite good data feedback."
"In the Grand Prix, I believe I will achieve a good result."
Hamilton put down the microphone, nodding to indicate he was finished.
His words, both explicit and implicit, revealed an extraordinary aggressiveness and determination.
His retirement in Singapore had indeed made him completely tense; he could not afford to lose any of the upcoming Grands Prix!
The interviews with the three drivers did not cause much of a stir. Everyone could see that the tension among them was far more intense than at the previous race.
Wu Shi and Hamilton were in a battle for the World Championship, which goes without saying.
As for Hamilton and Rosberg, their rivalry was a tangled web of grievances and animosities. So even though Rosberg had already exited World Championship contention, he was still happy to see the old man suffer a setback.
After the qualifying wrap-up, Williams held another deployment meeting for tomorrow's Grand Prix.
The data and strategy departments jointly formulated a general strategy plan.
Williams consumed tyres heavily on this track. According to previous data, the medium tyres were faster than the hard tyres.
Wu Shi was starting in first place, but the two Mercedes cars behind him were very fast, so the timing of his first stint was very difficult to manage.
"Our maximum speed won't be much slower than Mercedes, but their balance is better, and tyre wear will be less."
"Pirelli's prediction is white-white-orange."
"But tomorrow, we will most likely face the risks of both undercut and overcut simultaneously."
"After calculations, we believe that if Wu Shi pits first to switch to hard tyres, he won't lose too much time."
Wu Shi looked at the data in front of him on the laptop and found it very tricky.
Suzuka has a total of 53 laps, with a total race distance of 307.4 kilometers, requiring at least two stops.
"If I use hard tyres for the second stint, I might lose positions."
Rodrigo nodded and said:
"But if we use medium tyres, our tyre management will face big trouble."
"With a light fuel load, our tyre wear is significantly better than with a heavy fuel load, so using medium tyres for the last stint might be better."
The strategy group's recommendation was white-orange-white.
Wu Shi had no better ideas, so he didn't speak again.
This was Williams' predicament, similar to Red Bull in 2025: through special tuning and the driver's personal ability, they could reach pole position.
But once faced with a long-distance race, their shortcomings and deficiencies would be exposed.
Everyone implicitly avoided discussing whether Wu Shi would be overtaken in the first stint.
After all, no matter what, this race had to follow the tyre strategy, otherwise the speed would be very, very slow.
According to the weather forecast, tomorrow would still be sunny, with no change in weather.
The night passed uneventfully, and the next day at noon, they arrived at the circuit.
Williams held another pre-race meeting, finally confirming the details of the race.
At 1:30 PM, the pit lane green light came on. Wu Shi, driving car no. 59 Williams, after a reconnaissance lap, stopped at the first starting grid.
After getting out, he looked around and said to Jonathan beside him, "There are many empty seats in the stands."
"Yeah, perhaps people here don't love F1 as much as imagined, or maybe the view from the front row is just too poor."
"Maybe it's the lack of a home-country driver," Wu Shi said.
"Hmm, Kamui Kobayashi left the paddock, so for them, there's one less reason to come and watch the race live," Jonathan said, smiling at Wu Shi. "You are not only stronger than him, but also luckier."
"Oh, yes!"
The eternal question in the paddock is: Is the car good? Or is the driver good?
Now, even if Wu Shi were thrown into Manor Racing, unless ten cars retired, there would be almost no chance of scoring points.
After all, being a second slower than the second-to-last car every lap, even a god wouldn't catch up!
Car and driver must complement each other.
Team and driver also complement each other; focusing on only one side loses meaning.
During this interval, reporters were everywhere looking for interviews.
Hülkenberg was also found and asked about his thoughts on the three-place grid penalty.
Hülkenberg was very candid, claiming the collision in Singapore was a misunderstanding.
Although he was penalized to start beyond the fifth row, he would still try his best to complete the race.
Wu Shi walked over to Verstappen's side.
Drivers rarely move around during the free time before the formation lap.
"Hmm? What's up? Is our pole position driver here to impart some tips?" Verstappen said with a smile.
"If there's enough time, I don't mind chatting with you slowly," Wu Shi said with a smile.
"So, time is short, let's make it brief."
Verstappen patted Wu Shi and said:
"Brother, don't forget that in F3, we always drove cars that were a gear behind. Are you losing courage now just because a World Champion is behind you?"
"Those who fear a World Champion cannot become a World Champion!"
Verstappen is actually a very emotionally perceptive person. Seeing Wu Shi walk from the front row at this moment, he naturally wasn't there to reminisce.
Pole position sometimes doesn't mean a guaranteed victory, but rather means bearing pressure.
Wu Shi hadn't expected Verstappen to come and help him relieve the pre-race pressure like this.
He extended his hand and shook Verstappen's hand tightly.
Then he returned to the front row, and Jonathan also reminded him that it was time to get in the car.
The 15-minute bell rang, and all personnel except the race crew and track staff began to leave the track.
Several more bells rang, the drivers entered their seats, and the race crew retreated to the sides of the track.
At 2:00 PM sharp, Wu Shi received the starting instruction and began the formation lap.
It was only 20 degrees Celsius at Suzuka today, so it would take some distance for the car's temperature to rise.
In the final section of the track, Wu Shi slightly slowed down to allow the cars behind to bunch up.
Then he accelerated again to boost tyre temperature.
After stopping at the first position, Wu Shi touched his wrist; his gloves were on well.
One car after another took its place behind him.
The safety car brought up the rear. Soon, the first red light came on.
Vroom, vroom, vroom!
The drivers all revved their engines, and the sound filled the entire straight.
The five red lights came on very quickly.
But the lights took a moment longer to go out.
Whoosh!
Lights out and away we go!
Wu Shi's clutch reaction time was only 0.123 seconds, and Williams started quickly!
However, Rosberg, also on the front row, was a little slower.
But Wu Shi didn't have time to celebrate, as Hamilton from behind was already in the middle of the track.
Before attacking Wu Shi, he had to deal with his teammate!
Before Turn 1, the two Mercedes cars were already side by side.
Whoosh, whoosh!!!
Upon exiting the corner, Hamilton's car took the lead, and he immediately squeezed hard to the inside.
Rosberg again showed weakness when facing his teammate, actually yielding further to the inside.
This caused him to run over the kerb, instantly losing a significant amount of speed.
Swish!
The moment he passed Turn 2, he not only lost second place but also quickly dropped another position!
Vettel directly overtook Rosberg on the straight after Turn 2!
Rosberg paid a heavy price for running over the kerb, only recovering vehicle stability when entering Turn 3.
By this time, Wu Shi and Hamilton had already driven far ahead.
But just a moment later, Massa suddenly said on the team radio: "I have a problem."
Dave (team radio): "Yes, you have a tyre puncture, Felipe, BOX, BOX."
On the other side, Ricciardo also told his team: "My tyre is punctured."
Up front, Wu Shi also said on the team radio:
"He's catching up so fast; I can already see him in my rearview mirror."
Jonathan (team radio): "Stay steady, stay steady."
On the track, car no. 59 Williams was already being chased by the Mercedes behind him as he reached Turn 11.
After the retirement in the last race and the qualifying loss in this one, Hamilton finally fully unleashed his aggression.
What about waiting for DRS? What about closing in according to strategy?
He was going to directly attack Wu Shi!
From this moment on, Wu Shi could no longer hold back.
Screech!
Exiting Turn 11, the tyre grip was fully utilized.
Wu Shi seized a small window of opportunity, ensuring his acceleration out of the corner.
Roar!
After pressing the accelerator, he glanced at Hamilton behind him.
Damn it! He's too close!
Whoosh, swish!
The car sped through Turn 12, immediately facing the two high-speed corners of 13-14.
Throttle and brakes were pushed to their limits to maintain the car at its highest speed for the sprint.
Vroom, vroom, roar!
Exiting Turn 14, Wu Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pressed the accelerator.
The car accelerated fiercely, speeding through the entire long straight.
Hamilton behind him pursued relentlessly, clinging tightly.
But the difference between the two cars on the straight was not significant, and Hamilton couldn't close the gap.
When he reached Turn 15, Wu Shi threw the entire car into it.
Screech!
He seemed to hear the tyres wailing, but he dared not relax for a moment.
If he couldn't open up a one-second gap in the first three laps, once Mercedes caught up with DRS, he would be waiting for death!
Clatter, clatter, clatter!!! Whoosh, swish!
After going over the kerbs of 16 and 17, the car was finally about to complete a lap.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One F1 car after another crossed the start/finish line, and the timing board updated accordingly.
"Wu Shi, Lewis's gap to you is 0.311 seconds. You, you need to pay attention to tyre temperature."
Jonathan felt the latter part of the sentence was somewhat cruel.
"Yes! I know! I want to know about Lewis's situation in dirty air!"
On the main straight, Wu Shi shouted with effort.
"Current telemetry data shows he's in very good condition. Let's hold on for two more laps," Jonathan said.
"Okay!"
Wu Shi was breathing heavily. The qualifying setup would face huge problems in the Grand Prix.
The lack of downforce in the corners meant that every extraordinary cornering maneuver came at the cost of tyre life.
Although overtaking points at Suzuka Circuit are scarce, this track is not Monaco. As long as Mercedes is fast enough, he still can't block them!
However, shortly after entering the second lap, Jonathan informed Wu Shi:
"Yellow flag in sectors two and three."
"Copy."
Wu Shi received the message, and while feeling a sense of relief, he also asked, "What's the situation?"
"Massa and Ricciardo have tyre blowouts," Jonathan briefly replied.
This yellow flag lasted for quite some time.
Towards the end of the second lap, Massa and Ricciardo both pitted.
But on the third lap, Massa's front wing developed a problem, forcing him to pit again to replace the front nose.
This directly caused Massa to lose a significant amount of time.
By the time Massa came out, he had already been lapped by Wu Shi.
The two Williams cars crossed paths, which was very dramatic.
"Hamilton is being very aggressive today," Brother Bing remarked.
"Hmm, the fastest lap time for the first lap is out: Wu Shi 1 minute 39 seconds 689."
"Hamilton 1 minute 39 seconds 710. Wu Shi was 0.3 seconds slower in the first sector, recovered 0.21 seconds in the second sector, and recovered 0.11 seconds in the third sector."
After Brother Fei reported the data, he looked at the broadcast screen again.
"The yellow flag will delay the activation of DRS."
Midway through the third lap, the yellow flag was withdrawn, and the race resumed.
At this point, the broadcast replayed the starting situation.
Wu Shi led the front row, and Rosberg's start wasn't slow, just a slight hesitation at the beginning.
Further back, it was a mess, with everyone squeezed together after entering Turn 1.
Pérez was hit at this moment and drove into the gravel trap.
Massa and Ricciardo's cars were also damaged at this time.
After the replay, a Mercedes team radio message was immediately released.
Hamilton (team radio): "Can I increase engine power?"
"No problem, switch to Strat 3," Bono said.
After the simultaneous interpreter translated the team radio, Brother Bing immediately said:
"Oh, Mercedes is determined to win the championship this race!"
Immediately after, Rosberg's team radio also sounded; he asked the same thing as Hamilton.
The team's reply was also the same.
"Both Mercedes are losing their patience," Brother Fei said.
"Then Wu Shi will face big trouble soon."
"This is something one must face to win the championship."