Chapter 192: Hamilton's Speed Is Slowing Down
The sudden disappearance of the yellow flag, combined with the team's "Push" command, made Wu Shi completely disregard tire conservation. He switched the engine mode, slightly increasing the power output.
He had to open up enough of a gap during Vettel's out-lap to give the pit crew enough margin to complete the tire change.
Jonathan looked at the upward-curving gap line on the timing screen and knew that there were almost no remaining issues on track.
He trusted Wu Shi's driving stability completely. Turning to the pit crew members seated behind him, he raised his hand, took off one side of his headset, and said:
"Everyone, get ready! No mistakes allowed! Even the slightest error will cost us the podium!"
It was rare for the track engineer to speak so directly to the crew. Everyone understood that this pit stop would decide whether they could keep the podium position.
The crew immediately began preparing. The four tires were checked one by one and rolled into position. The mechanic responsible for the wheel gun repeatedly confirmed that the gun in his hands was working properly, and that the spare gun behind him was also in place and ready.
It wasn't excessive caution—mistakes like missing tires, wheel-gun failures, or inaccessible spare guns had all happened during practice sessions before.
The jack operator exchanged quick signals with the two backup mechanics behind him, all giving each other an "OK" gesture.
The staff responsible for pit-lane monitoring stood behind the safety line, eyes fixed on incoming traffic.
For this single tire change, the entire pit crew was fully mobilized. No one was idle.
"Very good. You've opened up a gap of 1.7 seconds. The rest is up to us," Jonathan said over the radio. The atmosphere in the garage instantly tightened.
Wu Shi entered the pit lane, pressed the speed-limit button, and guided the car toward his pit box.
The broadcast camera followed closely, and a timing window appeared in the lower right corner of the screen.
Wu Shi's control was extremely precise. He hit the marks perfectly, braked smoothly, and the front and rear jacks lifted the car almost simultaneously.
Four mechanics gripped the old tires. The wheel guns rattled sharply.
Click-click!
The worn tires were removed. Another four mechanics instantly aligned the new soft tires.
Click-click!
The wheels were locked. The jacks dropped. The spotter raised his arm—lane clear!
Vroom!
Wu Shi slammed the throttle and shot into the fast lane.
[2.78 s]
A collective breath was finally released in the Williams garage. The stop wasn't record-breaking, but it was clean—no mistakes, no delays. The crew high-fived each other in celebration.
The broadcast clock continued ticking, but the camera was now focused on the Ferrari charging down the main straight.
Meanwhile, the Williams crawling along the pit lane at the speed limit made the grandstand spectators hold their breath.
"He's coming out! Can he get ahead of Vettel?" Brother Bing exclaimed, voice tense.
Even Wu Shi himself wasn't thinking about Vettel's exact position. His only task was to exit the pit lane as fast as possible and link cleanly into Turn 1.
As the detection antenna crossed the white pit-exit line, the engine revs surged and the car leapt forward, merging toward the middle of the track.
"He made it! But the gap is small!" the commentator shouted.
Wu Shi turned in. Behind him, Vettel's tires were already warmed from a flying out-lap, while Wu Shi's fresh tires were still coming up to temperature.
That meant he had to drive absolutely perfectly—no room for even the smallest mistake.
Vroom, vroom!
He clipped the apex precisely, and before the next corner even came fully into view, he had already turned in toward Turn 3's apex. Every movement was executed exactly as he had practiced countless times in the simulator and in his mind.
Vettel couldn't immediately close the gap. Once Wu Shi's tires were fully up to temperature, opportunities would become even scarcer.
The experienced Vettel had no intention of forcing an overtake on degrading tires. Instead, he applied continuous pressure, waiting patiently for the rookie to make the slightest error—then he would strike calmly and decisively.
Unfortunately for him, that moment was unlikely to arrive.
Unlike most drivers, Wu Shi carried precise data for every corner in his head. As long as he maintained his rhythm and didn't change his driving style, mistakes were extremely rare.
The gap quickly stretched back to 1.1 seconds. Wu Shi's out-lap was aggressive and efficient.
Two laps later, the gap widened to 1.5 seconds.
At the same time, Wu Shi set the fastest lap of Lap 16: 1:42.784.
"His position looks stable. It seems there won't be any attacks for a while," Brother Bing said.
"Yes. We also see Hamilton pitted on Lap 14, and Rosberg on Lap 15. Mercedes is being very fair—completely identical strategies," Brother Fei commented.
Pitting sequentially meant neither driver had clean air to attempt an overcut, eliminating any chance of internal strategy games.
With the front positions settled, aside from midfield battles, the race offered few dramatic moments.
But shortly after Lap 17 began, thick white smoke suddenly poured from Kvyat's car, and he rolled straight into the gravel trap.
Marshals immediately rushed over with fire extinguishers.
Fortunately, it wasn't a high-speed crash. Kvyat stopped near a gap in the barrier, and the marshals quickly put out the fire and pushed the car off track.
Lap after lap passed at full speed. For the spectators, the main sensations were now just the thunder of engines and the explosive rush of air as the cars blasted by.
With little else to focus on, the broadcast camera turned toward Wu Zhenlin in the Williams garage. He was wearing team headphones, standing behind the control desk door, watching the screens intently.
In truth, he didn't understand much of the technical data—his eyes were fixed only on the name "Wu Shi" in the position list.
"Uncle, the camera is filming you," Louise whispered.
Having been caught on camera before in the Mercedes garage, she had become more sensitive to these things and immediately noticed the lens pointed their way.
"Let them film," Wu Zhenlin said with a smile, even raising his hand to wave in the camera's direction.
On Lap 19, Rosberg's voice, filled with static, came through the broadcast:
"Please reduce the radio. A lot of things don't need repeating. I'll pay attention myself. Let me focus on driving."
Louise tugged at her headphones and pouted. This radio was really noisy—Wu Shi's voice sounded much nicer.
In fact, Mercedes had just told Rosberg the gap to Hamilton, and also the gap to Wu Shi behind him.
But Rosberg could already see Hamilton ahead and Wu Shi in his mirrors. The three were not far apart at all.
As long as he couldn't bring the gap into DRS range, those numbers were meaningless.
Two laps later, Rosberg added, "Sorry, I know you're telling me Hamilton is a bit slow, but I need to manage my tires."
This was why races often turned into long stretches of running laps—because tire management was one of the most decisive elements of race strategy.
"The top five are basically on the same strategy: all medium tires for this stint. Meanwhile, Massa, who switched compounds earlier, is already nearly ten seconds behind the lead group," Brother Bing explained.
At this moment, Verstappen completed an overtake on Nasr, and the camera once again cut to Jos Verstappen in the garage.
On Lap 22, Jonathan reminded Wu Shi over the radio:
"Vettel is closing in. You need to increase the pace. The gap is down to 1.01 seconds. Hamilton's speed is dropping, and the distances between you three are compressing."