Chapter 273: He Won
On lap 57, the safety car's roof lights extinguished – it would peel off the circuit at the end of this lap.
Wu Shi weaved his Williams back and forth across the track to bring his tires up to operating temperature. Approaching Turn 12, he eased off the throttle; Lewis Hamilton drew alongside in his Mercedes, a deliberate act of psychological pressure. Undeterred, Wu Shi maintained a measured pace along the final short straight.
As they headed into Turn 13, Hamilton's intent to attack the inside was clear. All team radios fell silent – the final duel would be decided by the drivers alone.
Wu Shi took a steadying breath, mentally mapping every possible scenario before nudging the throttle to carry speed into the corner. Exiting Turn 15, he slammed the accelerator without warning.
Vroom!
The howl of the engine signaled the race's official restart. Hamilton matched the move, shifting up through the gears as the two cars charged side-by-side into Turn 16. Beyond it lay a stretch of full-throttle running.
Wu Shi knew exactly how much grip his tires could deliver, feeding in throttle aggressively as the rear-mounted ERS and engine torque catapulted the FW37 forward. Exiting Turn 17, the rear end stepped out slightly but held firm.
Whoosh!
Cars streamed onto the mammoth main straight. The Williams' straight-line speed matched the Mercedes, and with Wu Shi's ERS reserves fully deployed, Hamilton found no opening before Turn 1. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa sliced past two Red Bulls on the straight to move into fourth.
Though Hamilton posed no immediate threat, Wu Shi held the middle line in a light defensive stance. The next two corners offered little overtaking opportunity, which he navigated cleanly.
After Turn 3, they entered the second, shorter DRS-enabled straight. Hamilton tucked into the slipstream, closing rapidly – but Wu Shi activated his battery boost to maintain speed into Turn 4.
Screech!
Brakes bit to their limit; the car rotated into the corner, then Wu Shi jumped two gears and pinned the throttle for the next sequence. He pushed every sector to its absolute edge.
Swish!
Exiting Turn 6, the gap stretched to 0.4 seconds – not enough. Drawing on qualifying-style adjustments, Wu Shi tweaked brake balance and differential settings lap by lap, compensating for the Williams' aerodynamic deficit with sharp mechanical grip management.
Hamilton's focus never wavered, but as he entered Turn 7, a touch too much throttle combined with dirty air sapped downforce, unsettling the car's front end.
Screech!
The minor mistake let Wu Shi pull further ahead. Hamilton recovered smoothly, though, and reeled in speed on the following straight.
Swish!
Wu Shi crossed the line to start lap 59. "0.8 seconds," his race engineer Jonathan reported over the radio.
"Lewis, switch to Strategy 3," Bono told Hamilton.
Without DRS active, both cars left trails of sparks as they streaked down the straight – extreme downforce clamping them to the track, every surface imperfection jolting through the chassis.
Before Turn 1, Wu Shi glanced in his mirrors to see Hamilton moving wide, and held the middle line to defend.
"0.5 seconds," Jonathan said.
Screech!
Tires screamed against tarmac as front wheels carved into the corner.
"They're too fast!" Wu Shi exclaimed. "DRS isn't even open, and they gained three tenths just from slipstream?!"
Frustration flared, but his driving grew sharper still. Every aspect of the car – and its interaction with wind, track surface, and racing line – was calculated in real time.
Swish!
After the Turn 1-3 complex, Wu Shi pulled clear to 0.57 seconds. But Hamilton stayed in high-power mode, closing in relentlessly. DRS would reactivate next lap – how could Wu Shi hold him off?
"I need to switch to Quali mode," Wu Shi told Jonathan.
"NO! Don't be reckless – this is your fourth power unit set. Any damage means a grid penalty for the next two races."
"This is our best shot – we can't wait," Wu Shi said, ignoring the order and twisting the mode knob at the base of his wheel.
Roar!
The engine unleashed extra power, shaking the car as cylinder pressures spiked. Wu Shi knew the mode would only last a handful of laps before reliability risks soared – but right now, nothing else mattered.
Whoosh!
Approaching Turn 4, he braked harder still; tires didn't lock, but a haze of white smoke curled from the contact patches. The car looked poised to understeer off track, yet it carved cleanly into the corner and accelerated early for Turn 5.
Whoosh!
Speed climbed to unthinkable levels. Hamilton watched in disbelief as the Williams darted through corners like a fish through water – he'd expected the car to slide wide more than once, but Wu Shi held the line perfectly.
Roar!
On the straight after Turn 6, the Williams pulled away for good. A lap and a half in dirty air had accelerated wear on Hamilton's front tires and destabilized his front wing downforce. He had to stay close to strike when DRS returned – but the longer the battle dragged on, the worse his tire degradation would become.
Swish!
The lead pair's pace was blistering – Nico Rosberg already trailed by 2.1 seconds after the 'S' bends. Cameras stayed locked on them until Felipe Nasr slid off track (but recovered in the runoff, triggering only local yellow flags in Sector 2).
Whoosh!
Lap 60 began as they crossed the line, and DRS was reactivated. Both had lapped under 1 minute 20 seconds – far faster than the rest of the field.
"0.9 seconds – keep pushing, but watch the engine. It'll trigger a warning soon," Jonathan said.
Wu Shi had no time to reply, deploying full ERS on the main straight before diving into Turn 1. His soft tires were now at peak performance, making the car feel even more responsive. Fast in, fast out – the FW37 moved with fluid precision, balanced right at the edge of control.
"1.012 seconds – maintain," Jonathan called, eyes fixed on power unit temperatures and pressures. Second place was safer than retirement, but Wu Shi saw it differently: another runner-up finish would mean little at the next two circuits, where Williams lacked pace.
In the following complex corners, Hamilton could not match Wu Shi's rhythm without risking a mistake. He marveled at how his rival, after an hour of racing, still drove with such ferocity.
Swish!
At the DRS detection point after Turn 11, Wu Shi led by 1.312 seconds.
"He won't get DRS," Jonathan said.
"Copy."
Wu Shi finally had a moment to respond, then dialed the engine back to cool it down. The Williams lost speed on the long straight, allowing Hamilton to close in.
"1.023 seconds," Jonathan warned before Turn 1.
Wu Shi focused on managing the power unit, adjusting his style to enter corners fast and exit gently – shifting load to tires and brakes to give the engine breathing room. The gap dipped below 1 second on the next straight.
"Lewis doesn't have DRS, but he's catching up with raw pace and slipstream!" the commentator yelled. "He's waiting for detection at Turn 11 or 14 – once he has DRS, overtaking will be easy! But Wu Shi won't let him!"
"Oh! Wu Shi locks up at Turn 4 – no, wait, front wheels still turn! The gap's widening again – 1.032 seconds! Hamilton misses DRS for lap 61!"
On the main straight, Mercedes showed factory-team resilience – Hamilton kept his power mode high, sparks streaming from the car's floor.
"Lewis is flying! He'll gain three tenths here – can Wu Shi activate overtake mode again? Will the engine hold?"
Without prompting, Wu Shi fine-tuned three power-component knobs on his wheel – a rare move for a driver, who lacks real-time data to make such adjustments.
"What is he doing?!" Rodrigo, a Williams engineer, demanded of Jonathan.
"Trust him," Jonathan said simply.
On the straight after Turn 3, Hamilton gained less than a tenth of a second – the power units were now nearly matched.
Niki Lauda turned to Toto Wolff: "Can their engine hold?"
"It won't," Wolff shook his head.
Wu Shi knew the risk, so he reverted modes after Turn 6 to ease stress. Still, cycling between settings accelerated wear, and he could feel the engine's vibrations growing more intense. His only goal now was to hold on.
Lap 62: Lead 1.02 seconds.
Lap 63: Valtteri Bottas spins at Turn 12, scraping the wall but avoiding a safety car.
Lap 64: Hamilton adjusts his engine mode.
Lap 65: Lead stretches to 1.4 seconds – then Hamilton switched to an untested mode on Lap 67, and the Mercedes surged.
"Lewis is faster! Four laps to go – gap down to 1.2 seconds at Turn 9 detection!" Jonathan said.
By the third DRS zone, Hamilton closed in even without activation.
Swoosh!
At Turn 14, the gap was just 1.006 seconds.
"Lewis is flying! Main straight ahead – sparks like fireworks!"
Before Turn 1, Wu Shi braked early, seemingly yielding – but it was a feint. Hamilton braked heavily in response, disrupting his rhythm. Wu Shi carried speed into the corner, pulling clear to 0.7 seconds. The trick, learned from Max Verstappen's past moves, had caught the seasoned champion off guard.
Whoosh!
Entering Turn 14, Wu Shi sacrificed entry speed for a faster exit, stretching the lead to 1.02 seconds at detection – just enough to deny Hamilton DRS. The gap shrank to 0.8 seconds on the straight, but the trade-off was worth it.
Lap 68 brought another round of fighting. At Turn 9, the gap was 0.45 seconds, and Hamilton gained DRS. He used his higher top speed to sweep past into Turn 11.
"Oh! Lewis retakes the lead!"
Under dirty air, Wu Shi struggled to follow, falling 0.6 seconds back – but he would have DRS on the next straight.
Vroom! Roar!
Both cars pushed flat out.
Screech!
The gap narrowed to 0.4 seconds into Turn 1. "Lewis has severe tire degradation – understeer setting in," Jonathan reported.
Through Turns 1-3, the gap crept back to 0.61 seconds, but Wu Shi still held DRS for the following straight. He gained two tenths, then pulled wide to the outside for Turn 4.
Hamilton defended the middle line, squeezing hard – but Wu Shi committed to the edge of the track, leaving no room for contact. Hamilton backed off to avoid a collision, and understeered through the corner. Wu Shi swept from outside to inside, claiming Turn 5's line.
"Wu Shi retakes the lead!"
He pressed his advantage, forcing Hamilton wide into Turn 6. The Mercedes' tires lacked grip to fight back, falling 0.4 seconds behind.
The pattern repeated: Hamilton overtook with DRS at Turn 11; Wu Shi responded with DRS at Turn 14.
"Adjust engine mode!" Jonathan urged.
Wu Shi waited until he led into Turn 7 to make the change, feeling heat rise in his chest. Hamilton was struggling too – Mercedes engineers monitored data anxiously, debating a late pit stop, but with the title on the line, they held off.
Hamilton passed again at Turn 11, stretching the lead to 0.98 seconds by Turn 14. Williams' pace had dropped noticeably – Mercedes relaxed, assuming victory was secure.
Lap 70 – the penultimate lap.
At Turn 17, Wu Shi twisted the mode knob once more.
"NO!" Jonathan hissed privately, not wanting Mercedes to overhear.
The engine roared back to life, letting Wu Shi stay glued to Hamilton's gearbox. Through the second DRS zone, the gap fell to 0.5 seconds, then widened slightly through the corners as Wu Shi reset the mode to save power.
He gained DRS after Turn 9, opening it at Turn 11 to close the gap by 0.15 seconds. Hamilton couldn't pull away – his tires were nearly spent.
Lap 71 – the final lap.
Exiting Turn 17, Wu Shi drew a deep breath. The engine was at its limit – this was the last push.
Roar!
He activated DRS on the main straight, the Williams showering sparks as it surged forward. The grandstand erupted – fans had watched ten laps of wheel-to-wheel combat.
At Turn 1, Wu Shi attacked the inside, but Hamilton held the middle line. Wu Shi bided his time, noting how the Mercedes squirmed on corner exit.
After Turn 3, DRS cut the gap to 0.4 seconds. Through the next corners, Hamilton's rear end grew increasingly unstable.
Turn 11 – the final DRS zone. Wu Shi had it.
Roar!
Full power flooded the engine.
0.35 seconds… 0.25 seconds…
He moved to the outside to overtake; Hamilton blocked the inside. Wu Shi forced the Mercedes to the edge of the track, the two cars nose-to-tail.
Before Turn 13, a left-hander, Wu Shi surged ahead to block the middle line. Hamilton was forced wide onto the runoff.
"Wu Shi squeezes him out – he's leading into Turn 14!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Turns 14, 15, 16 – the engine's note grew ragged, then cut out entirely. Wu Shi jammed the throttle one last time.
Roar! Roar!
Exiting Turn 17, Hamilton activated DRS and closed fast. Both spotted the checkered flag waving ahead.
Swoosh! Whoosh!
They crossed the line side-by-side – then a bang echoed from the Williams' rear. Thick smoke billowed, followed by flames.
"Oh my goodness!"
Yellow flags waved as Wu Shi coasted to a stop by the pit wall. The heat at his back spiked; he ripped out the steering wheel and climbed free. Marshals scrambled over the barrier with fire extinguishers.
"ARE YOU OK?!" one yelled.
"OK," Wu Shi nodded, watching his car burn. A marshal pulled him toward the paddock, but he paused to glance at the track's leaderboard.
At the very top: WUS.
He won.
Even as the engine lay destroyed behind him, nothing could change that – his car had crossed the line first.