F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 100 Drifting and Grip in the Rain (Fifth Update)

For professional drivers, free time is extremely scarce.

After winning his third consecutive championship at Silverstone, Wu Shi only rested for one day on Monday before returning to the team's camp on April 22.

No genius succeeds solely because of talent; without hard work, they are destined to suffer the same fate as Zhong Yong.

On Tuesday, the Van Amersford team was busy again, as they would be heading to Germany in ten days for their second round of three races.

Early in the morning, the team leader convened a meeting with all members. He skipped the usual platitudes and addressed Wu Shi and Verstappen directly:
"Hogheimlin Circuit is a very high-speed track, so our setup will definitely lean towards low downforce and a stiff suspension, which will make it more challenging in the corners."

"Neither of you are very familiar with this track, but it is somewhat similar to Monza, so you can use it as a reference."

"Last year, the Prema team swept the top three positions in the first qualifying session, with a pole position time of 1 minute 33.623 seconds."

“第二场排位赛杆位由卡琳车队的丹尼尔·科维亚特获得，成绩是1分33秒367，第二名也是由卡琳车队的车手拿到，乔丹·King取得了1分33秒418的成绩。

"Based on Silverstone's performance, this year's lap times should be significantly faster than last year's."

The team leader gave a general overview of the situation, then announced the schedule, and the meeting adjourned.

“The team leader didn’t mention our lap time last year. Do you know what it was?” Wu Shi asked.

“Around 1 minute 34.4 seconds,” Jules replied.

"It's almost a second slower." Wu Shi stroked his chin, but this one second doesn't necessarily mean the race car was that much slower; it also depends on the driver.

"What are you afraid of? You're a driver who comes with a one-second advantage!"

After three matches at Silverstone, Gustavo from America no longer considers Wu Shi a competitor, so he can joke and tease him without any pressure.

"Ahem, don't say that." Wu Shi shook his head, saying that one should remain low-key and humble.

The team's morning schedule for the group consisted of physical training, which meant their necks were going to suffer again.

There are many ways to train your neck, such as resting your head on a resistance band, tilting your torso back until it is parallel to the ground, and holding that position. This is to work the muscle groups.

To train lateral strength, coaches also need to use resistance bands to pull from all directions.

During this process, the driver must keep their head from veering off course.

During this training session, Wu Shi would grimace and exert all his strength against the coach's power, his face turning bright red.

"You've been growing a lot lately, and your strength is increasing very quickly," the coach said as he gradually reduced the force of the resistance band and lowered it.

"I can feel it now, I could practically eat a whole cow every day!" Wu Shi took a few deep breaths.

"Don't go too far with the indulgence meal," the coach kindly reminded him.

"Of course, I have been very restrained."

Wu Shi sighed. He was a glutton, and controlling his diet was torture, but it was something he had to do. No one could succeed without effort.

After neck training, the next step is upper limb and core strength training.

After a grueling morning of training, the afternoon consisted of normal racing practice.

As official F3 competitors, they are naturally not allowed to drive F3 cars privately, so the team would not risk providing vehicles for them to drive.

At this stage, an emulator is primarily used.

However, the effectiveness of the simulator is largely dependent on the team. If the parameters are incorrect, the players may practice in the wrong way and even come up with some crazy ideas.

For example, a later generation of geniuses who mastered the DRS cornering technique.

Therefore, Wu Shi's attitude towards simulators has always been that they are good for training, but he will not use them as a blueprint for actual driving. Instead, he relies more on simulators to memorize track characteristics, etc.

Verstappen, on the other hand, prefers to communicate effectively with engineers, gradually adjusting the simulator to make it more realistic, and then driving it day and night.

It's going to rain tomorrow.

At 11 p.m., Wu Shi got off the simulator and saw Verstappen still driving intently, so he said something.

"Huh?" Verstappen suddenly swerved twice to steady the car and said, "Then let's go to the track and drift."

"what?"

"I feel that my perception of grip on wet surfaces is not good enough yet, and I want to train it."

“Okay.” Wu Shi had heard about Pan Zi’s special training techniques. The FIA ​​only prohibited private testing of F3 vehicles throughout the year, but did not restrict other vehicles.

After the agreement was made, Verstappen discussed the matter with the team leader.

The next day, two Nissan Silvia S14s were parked on the track.

Raindrops fell on the car body, making a dripping sound.

"That's a classic! Where did you get it?" Wu Shi exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey." Pan Zi smiled but didn't say anything, pointing at the car: "Let's go!"

Wu Shi has never even touched a streetcar.

After putting on the helmet and getting into the vehicle, Verstappen's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Can you drive?"

Are you kidding me?

Wu Shi held a walkie-talkie in one hand, shifted gears with the other, and swung his left and right feet simultaneously.

Waaaaah! Swish swish!

The tires spun freely on the wet track, splashing rainwater.

After wobbling for a moment, the S14 started running with its tail swaying from side to side, looking extremely unstable as if it were about to crash at any moment, but it was as steady as an old dog.

"Wow! Is this racing talent?" The team leader, watching this scene from inside the building, shook his head and asked Alan, "He said he's never driven a car other than a go-kart or a Formula car before?"

"Yes."

"No one taught him how to drive, right?"

Although all vehicles are similar, the specific handling is still different. For example, someone who is used to driving a gear lever will definitely not be able to adapt immediately to driving a vehicle with paddle shifters.

However, Wu Shi completely ignored this point and started working like a pro.

This S14 has no modified engine, only about 200 horsepower, but it is very comfortable to drive. In addition, even on straight roads, it can swerve and glide in the rain.

"Alas! This is completely different from the fun of solving equations!"

Wu Shi's hands were busy; his left hand held the gear shift and handbrake (the car was right-hand drive), while his right hand held a walkie-talkie and was ready to turn the steering wheel at any time.

Verstappen, hearing the crackling sound, couldn't help but admire his friend who had won the championship all the way; his perception of the vehicle was truly amazing.

To find out the grip of Formula One cars in the rain, he usually uses drift cars or snowmobiles to feel what happens to the vehicles after they lose grip.

Today's rain and slippery roads made such perception even more difficult, but it also provided a training opportunity, so he started the vehicle.

"Aren't they sure they're going to be alright driving like that?" Alan was a little worried. After all, it wasn't a dedicated race car. Although it was equipped with six-point harnesses and a roll cage, an accident could still easily cause injury to the driver.

"It's okay, they were born to drive vehicles."

A voice came, and Joss walked in, still dripping with rain, with Sid beside him, who was also soaked.

"Wow! Joss, you're back." The team leader turned around to shake hands, and then said to Sid, "Mr. Sid, it's been a long time."

"haven't seen you for a long time."

“Red Bull and I have already made plans for Verstappen’s future,” Joss said bluntly.

"Good news." The team leader nodded.

"Therefore, we need to do our best to ensure the competitiveness of the race car."

“Of course, we’ll go to Germany together then. With your help, I believe our vehicles will be even better,” the team leader said to Joss.

Sid walked to the eaves and looked out at Wu Shi, who was enjoying himself immensely in the rain.

His negotiations with Red Bull fell apart. The old man's exact words were, "Since an F1 team has already shown interest, there's no need for them to tell me anything more."

He was naturally furious about this, but it made him realize that there was no need to negotiate with Red Bull for the time being, and that he needed to work on Mercedes and McLaren next.

The three victories at Silverstone did not make Sid feel confident in fulfilling his contract with LaFerrari, as rumors recently circulated that the LaFerrari board had expressed strong dissatisfaction with Montezemolo's desire to localize the LaFerrari brand.

If Montezemolo leaves office, will Rafa choose to breach the contract?
　Presented at dawn, fifteen chapters in three days.

　　Thanks to Nathan.C for the generous donation!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)