Chapter 194: Safety Car to the End
"Wow… these medium tyres are really hard to get working."
After just one lap, Wu Shi couldn't help complaining over the radio.
He wasn't wrong.
Although track temperature had risen slightly, conditions were still far from ideal for the medium compound. Rosberg and Vettel, who had pitted earlier, were also struggling to set strong lap times.
If the soft tyres hadn't completely fallen off the cliff, they probably could have lasted a few more laps and still been faster.
By Lap 37, among the leading group:
Hamilton led.
Rosberg was six seconds behind.
Wu Shi was two seconds behind Rosberg.
Vettel was two and a half seconds behind Wu Shi.
Räikkönen was another four seconds behind Vettel.
As for Massa in sixth, he had already dropped more than twenty seconds back — clearly no longer in the same fight.
"Did you notice? Kimi's lap times are actually faster than Vettel's," Brother Fei said.
"Yeah. He was almost ten seconds back earlier, but once Vettel switched to the mediums, the gap started shrinking," Brother Bing replied.
The two of them quickly realized why the front runners had all chosen soft–soft–medium.
Anyone bold enough to use mediums in the middle stint would almost certainly lose track position.
"Is the difference between soft and medium really that big?" Brother Bing asked.
"Looks like it," Brother Fei nodded.
"Kimi pitted four laps later than Vettel. Right now it doesn't look dramatic, but once the medium tyres start degrading, the lap-time gap will become obvious."
"So you're saying Kimi might attack Vettel later on?" Brother Bing grinned.
"It's definitely possible."
"Then Wu Shi's tyres are newer than Rosberg's. Could he—"
"Not likely," Brother Fei cut in.
"They're only one or two laps apart, and the Mercedes pace is still there. Closing that gap won't be easy."
The reality on track matched their analysis perfectly.
Wu Shi simply couldn't reel Rosberg in.
Jonathan was now calling out mini-sector times every lap to make sure Wu Shi stayed within the tyre operating window.
"You're pulling away from Vettel, but not closing on Rosberg. Maintain current pace," Jonathan instructed.
From the pit wall, the situation was crystal clear.
Rosberg had started increasing his pace again, trimming the gap to Hamilton down to 5.2 seconds.
If he kept closing like this, there might still be a theoretical chance.
But judging from the previous stint, Rosberg's late-stint tyre management was always difficult, while Hamilton's tyres were newer.
With a five-second gap, it was basically an insurmountable wall.
If Jonathan were calling strategy for Mercedes, he wouldn't even try to force a fight.
Anyone who understood Hamilton knew this pattern well.
He would let you close to within two seconds, then suddenly push, stretch the gap, and once you dropped back, he'd slow again and invite you to chase.
Over and over.
He wore down both tyres and mentality at the same time.
Because a perfect victory isn't just about winning — it's about making your rival lose as many points as possible while you win.
So rather than expecting fireworks between the two Mercedes cars, Jonathan was watching Ferrari.
Räikkönen was genuinely closing on Vettel.
From four seconds… to 3.3 seconds.
Meanwhile, the gap between Wu Shi and Vettel was slowly growing, showing that Vettel was struggling to extract pace from the medium tyres compared to the softs.
Right now, the most intense fight on track was between Verstappen and Pérez.
They had been locked together for more than ten laps, fighting over the final points positions.
In the corners, Verstappen was clearly quicker and could close rapidly.
But on the straights, even with DRS, he simply couldn't match Pérez's top speed.
If the Red Bull power unit situation didn't improve, overtaking would always be this difficult.
"Verstappen has gained four positions since the start," Brother Fei said.
"After scoring points last race, he looks very likely to score again today. It's incredible for someone not even eighteen yet."
"Why does that sound a little like you're bragging?" Brother Bing glanced at him.
"What? Am I wrong?"
"If Verstappen is incredible, then what does that make Wu Shi? Ascending straight to the heavens?" Brother Bing laughed.
Brother Fei froze for a moment, then laughed awkwardly.
"You're right… maybe Wu Shi's performances have been so outrageous that I've stopped comparing him to other rookies."
"Exactly. Third race of the season. First race, he out-strategized Rosberg. Second race, he fought Hamilton head-to-head. This race, he's completely holding Vettel behind him. Haven't we already put him in the same bracket as the top drivers?"
Brother Bing spoke with unmistakable pride.
Brother Fei nodded seriously.
"At the start of the season, a lot of people said Wu Shi and Verstappen were only here because of money, that F1 had lost its sporting integrity."
"After the opening race, the criticism of Wu Shi dropped sharply. After the second race, almost no one was saying he entered the paddock through connections anymore."
---
The broadcast stayed focused on Verstappen and Pérez.
By Lap 41, Verstappen finally passed Pérez at Turn 11 — only to be repassed on the straight with a classic crossover move.
But the difference in cornering performance meant Pérez couldn't hold him through the next sequence.
In the end, Verstappen completed the move and climbed to P8.
Ferrari came on the radio to Räikkönen:
"You are driving very well now. Keep it up."
At this point, Kimi had closed to 2.6 seconds behind Vettel.
With about ten laps remaining, if he kept pushing, a real attack was possible.
In the first two races, Räikkönen had lost out to his German teammate for various reasons.
He rarely showed emotion — but his competitive fire had never gone out.
Rosberg was also continuing to close on Hamilton, now 4.7 seconds back.
Wu Shi, however, was having an unusually quiet race.
He was eight seconds behind Rosberg, while Vettel was about four seconds behind him.
A perfect no-man's-land.
Too far to attack, too far to be attacked.
In the Williams garage, Louise said to Wu Zhenlin:
"Unless something unexpected happens, Wu Shi should be safe for third."
Wu Zhenlin nodded.
To be honest, he also felt the race had become a little dull.
Everyone was simply running their own race — nothing like slicing through traffic on public roads.
---
After lapping several backmarkers, on Lap 49, the broadcast suddenly cut to the two McLarens.
Alonso and Button had Bottas boxed in between them.
Bottas forced his way through on performance alone, but his front wing clipped Button, sending Bottas off the track.
Alonso watched the contact, then calmly accepted the free position.
Fortunately, both Bottas and Button were able to drive back to the pit lane under their own power.
---
By Lap 51, even if a Safety Car came out, no one would pit — there was simply no strategic value left.
Kimi had now closed to within two seconds of Vettel.
Another lap or two, and he'd be inside DRS.
Ferrari's internal battle was quickly becoming the broadcast focus.
By Lap 53, the gap was down to 1.5 seconds.
Jonathan saw it and told Wu Shi:
"You can ease tyre management slightly. They're about to start fighting."
"Yeah, I know. Keep me updated on their battle — I'm getting bored back here."
He wasn't completely isolated, but he was effectively running his own private time trial.
Wu Shi had already started imagining standing on the podium at his home Grand Prix.
---
Lap 54
Suddenly, the broadcast camera cut to Verstappen.
The Toro Rosso was stopped on the side of the main straight.
Yellow flags waved.
Replay showed the #33 car exiting the final corner, smoke pouring from the rear, the engine sputtering, then flames bursting from the exhaust.
After climbing out, Verstappen walked through the gate in the barrier and into the pit lane.
Even through the camera, his anger was unmistakable.
"Safety Car, Safety Car," Jonathan said.
"How many laps left? What happened?" Wu Shi asked.
"Verstappen stopped on the main straight. Marshals haven't cleared the car yet."
By then, it was already Lap 55.
Wu Shi reached the main straight and saw the marshals struggling — they couldn't even move the car.
"He didn't leave it in neutral. They need to put it in neutral," Wu Shi said over the radio.
An official finally came over and pressed the neutral button on the steering wheel.
But when they tried to push it toward pit entry, the car rolled diagonally and became completely jammed at the opening.
---
Lap 56
Wu Shi followed the Safety Car past the stranded Toro Rosso and instantly understood.
They weren't going racing again.
The Safety Car would stay out until the chequered flag.
And just like that…
The race was over.