Chapter 212: Rosberg Can't Brake Again
Just as aerodynamics is an empirical science, so is car setup – there's no formula to calculate optimal performance, nor any single driver who can provide definitive guidance. Everything has to be tested on track.
During Free Practice 3, which was meant to serve as a qualifying simulation, the two Williams drivers were still constantly pitting in and out, tirelessly adjusting the car's settings. The data collected from the simulator the previous day was being applied to real-world conditions, but significant discrepancies between model and reality quickly became clear.
On another run, Wu Shi pressed the "mark" button at Turns 6, 10, and 15 – the problems in these corners were the most pronounced. Despite being different types of corners, all presented the same issue: oversteer.
If oversteer occurred on other circuits, Wu Shi was confident he could control it as long as it wasn't excessive. But here, there was no margin for recovery – a slide would leave no room to regain grip before hitting the barriers.
The race crew was working their hardest of the season, having never made so many setup changes in a single weekend. But progress was finally being made. On lap 18, Wu Shi found some genuine pace, and after two cool-down laps to let track conditions improve, he began his flying lap attempt.
Through Turns 1-8, before entering the tunnel, the main challenge was managing speed – even a small excess would trigger understeer. Surprisingly, steering accuracy wasn't the primary concern here.
As he rounded Turn 8 and entered the tunnel, he recalled Pérez's spin here in 2022, which had indirectly ruined Verstappen's flying lap that day. A Ferrari behind had also failed to brake in time, spinning across the track – Verstappen had arrived just as the incident unfolded, creating one of the season's most memorable scenes.
Exiting the tunnel, Turns 10-11 formed a tight chicane. Drivers must move from the right side of the track to attack Turn 10 on the left, then immediately switch direction for Turn 11 on the right. The window for this maneuver was tiny – insufficient reaction time or precision would cost valuable time at best, or result in hitting the Turn 10 wall or understeering into the barriers after Turn 11 at worst.
Wu Shi drove cautiously, avoiding the curbs entirely – taking to the air would inevitably cause understeer and a crash.
Clunk! Clunk!
After a series of bumps over the kerbs, the car entered the long straight leading to Turn 12 – a wide, more forgiving corner, one of the few on the circuit that allowed drivers some breathing room.
Beyond that, Turns 13 and 14 tested absolute precision; the gap between tires and barriers was directly linked to a driver's courage and skill.
Turns 15-16 were regularly featured in Monaco highlight reels, but in 2015, the Turn 15 barrier had a raised curb that prevented drivers from brushing against it as they could in later years. This made finding the limit here even more challenging.
Vroom! Clunk! Clunk! Vroom! Vroom!!!
Frequent gear changes, brief bursts of throttle, and constant adjustments to brake bias and toe settings left him drained after just one lap.
Turn 15 was his biggest concern – in his mind, there had never been a curb here before, so he had to consciously remind himself to use the updated line each time he passed through.
Whoosh! Vroom!
The Williams crossed the finish line with a time of 1 minute 17.511 seconds, placing eighth. Jonathan's expression was serious – the pace was still too slow.
Both Mercedes drivers and one Ferrari were running in the 1 minute 16-second range, with Red Bull also ahead. Massa's time was even worse, over 1 minute 18 seconds, near the bottom of the timesheets. The team had no choice but to call him in for further adjustments.
When Free Practice 3 ended, Williams' struggles were clear to everyone. Ferrari's improved pace brought a smile to Vettel's face during his interview, while the two Mercedes drivers – outpaced by Vettel – showed little emotion. When asked about the previous race in Spain, Hamilton smiled, but Rosberg turned away, indicating he preferred to focus on the current weekend. Clearly, their collision had shattered any remaining goodwill between them. No official word had come from Mercedes on how they would handle the incident, but reports of Toto Wolff meeting with both drivers had leaked, sparking speculation.
At 2 PM, qualifying conditions were less than ideal – the sky was overcast, humidity sat at 60%, and track temperature was only 33°C. The track surface looked dark; whether from residual moisture or the natural color of the new asphalt was unclear.
Besides being difficult to drive, Monaco was notoriously congested. With rain possible according to forecasts, drivers flooded onto the track early, leading to severe traffic issues.
"Start your first flying lap now," Jonathan said over team radio.
"Copy that."
Wu Shi wanted to stretch his palms, but there was no time as he rounded Turn 19 and entered the curved main straight – the only section of the circuit where DRS was permitted, though overtaking remained nearly impossible.
Roar! Roar!
The engine screamed at full power – this was the moment to push, with no second chances to make up time.
Jonathan's timing was spot-on; traffic was clear, and Wu Shi didn't encounter any other cars for most of the lap. But as he rounded Turn 8 and entered the tunnel, his eyes still adjusting to the dim light, a shadow appeared ahead. He jerked left, then corrected immediately.
Screech! Ahhh! Ahhh!!
The tires howled in protest as the rear end lost grip during the correction, swinging sharply toward the barriers.
Screech! Screech!!
Wu Shi relied entirely on instinct to stabilize the car, with no time for conscious thought. The window to regain balance was minuscule – his hands flicked the steering wheel left and right, while his feet worked throttle and brakes in rapid succession, finally bringing the rear back in line as he exited the tunnel.
The whole sequence happened in an instant. By the time the car was stable and slowed, his heart was pounding against his ribs.
"Gasp!"
"Why was there a car in the blind spot?!" Wu Shi shouted over the radio.
"Grosjean had unexpected gearbox issues – we're sorry, we didn't get the alert in time," Jonathan replied. The fault wasn't his – Grosjean's car had slowed suddenly in the tunnel, and race control hadn't relayed the information before Wu Shi entered.
After several deep breaths, Wu Shi calmed down. It had been terrifying.
Race officials finally noticed the issue and deployed local yellow flags. At least six cars had their first flying laps disrupted, with Wu Shi being the most severely affected. Having abandoned his lap, he suddenly faced pressure in Q1 with no valid time on the board.
Thankfully, the window for a second flying lap opened soon after. This run was smooth, with no obstacles in his path – but his time was only 1 minute 17.611 seconds. The broadcast cut to the Williams pit box, where the team looked grave and focused.
"Everyone's times are down across the board – we expect this to be enough for Q2," Jonathan said over TR, implicitly asking if Wu Shi wanted to attempt another lap.
"I need another run. Will traffic improve later?"
"Absolutely – Pérez, Vettel, Hülkenberg, Räikkönen, and others with similar pace are heading back to the pits now."
Wu Shi wasn't aiming for a new personal best – he just needed more track time to build familiarity with the tricky circuit.
As cars returned to the pits, the track cleared, leaving only a handful of drivers still on flying laps. Jonathan watched the data closely – this run was significantly faster, with the first two sectors nearly 0.5 seconds quicker than before.
"You've set two sector personal bests so far," he reminded him promptly.
Wu Shi understood immediately and backed off slightly in the third sector.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crossing the line at 1 minute 17.415 seconds, he placed eighth. While some spectators questioned his pace, commentators with professional insight picked up on what had happened when race control released the radio exchange.
"Wu Shi clearly backed off at the end – his first two sectors were nearly half a second faster. He could have easily broken into the 1 minute 16-second range, but ended up with 1:17.4."
"He eased off quite a bit – it looked almost like a cool-down lap."
When Q1 concluded, the top four – Rosberg, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Kvyat – all posted times in the 1 minute 16-second range, while everyone else sat above 1 minute 17 seconds. From 17th onward, times exceeded 1 minute 18 seconds. The eliminated drivers were Alonso, Nasr, Ericsson, and both Manor cars.
"Verstappen is impressive! All the focus has been on Wu Shi, but this talented 17-year-old has been flying under the radar – he's already scored solid points and just took third in Q1," one commentator noted.
"When discussing rookies now, Wu Shi is automatically excluded – no one sees the youngest driver in F1 history as a newcomer anymore."
"Williams is clearly struggling here, based on practice and qualifying so far."
"Wu Shi is typically about 0.5 seconds faster than his teammate. If he hadn't backed off in the third sector, he'd likely be in the high 1:16s – but even that wouldn't be enough to match the front-runners."
"We can reasonably say this will be Wu Shi's worst qualifying of the season, and on Monaco no less. A front-row start is out of reach, and even a podium finish looks unlikely."
As the commentary continued, the break ended and Q2 began. Since tires used in Q2 are carried over to the race start, drivers aiming for Q3 usually limit themselves to one flying lap – but no one takes that risk in Monaco. Everyone plans for a safe opening lap and a maximum-effort run, typically using older supersofts from Q1 for the first, then a fresh set for the second to ensure better race-start condition.
But during the break, light rain began to fall. Jonathan tested the air under the pit canopy and confirmed it – immediately, all teams switched to fresh supersofts and scrambled to get on track, making Q3 cut-off times unpredictable.
Incidents continued to disrupt proceedings. Just as Wu Shi completed his warm-up lap, Button encountered issues at Turn 1 and stopped on track. After a brief yellow flag period, the circuit cleared – Button had only suffered a minor gearbox glitch and was able to continue after resetting systems. But the delay forced Wu Shi to complete another warm-up lap before he could start his flying run.
On his third lap, he finally began his timed effort. Down the main straight, tire operating temperatures were perfect. As expected, the car felt solid through to Turn 5 – rear grip was sufficient, allowing him to adjust brake balance to reduce front-wheel load and gain more steering grip.
But beyond Turn 5, the downhill sections combined with stop-and-go corners tested his braking control to the limit. Exiting the tunnel, the sudden brightness didn't affect his vision behind the visor, and his driving remained steady.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His heart rate was high, but he barely noticed – every ounce of concentration was focused on the track ahead.
Swish!
1 minute 16.741 seconds. Jonathan let out a relieved breath – they'd broken into the 1:16s. But his expression darkened when he saw Massa's time: over 1 minute 18 seconds.
"Hamilton just set a new benchmark behind you – 1 minute 15.889 seconds," he reported.
While the rest of the field fought for 1:16s, Mercedes had casually dipped into the 1:15s in Q2. After his safe lap, Wu Shi had a realistic view of his potential for a maximum-effort run – breaking into the 1:15s would be impossible. Williams simply lacked competitiveness here, no need to pretend otherwise.
As he cooled down, he considered going all-out in Q3. His points lead made him want to declare, "Plan changed – we're going for the win!" But he wasn't one to boast, so his true thoughts remained hidden.
After two cool-down laps, conditions were optimal, and Wu Shi lined up for another flying lap. Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Hülkenberg, and Massa were all on timed runs at the same time – but moments later, Jonathan's voice cut sharply over the radio as marshals waved yellow flags along the track.
"Rosberg has locked up heavily – yellow flags, abandon this lap. Your final Q2 position is P9."
Jonathan's tone was calm as always, but Wu Shi couldn't help shaking his head. What are you doing, Nico?! You almost cost me a spot in Q3!
Wu Shi wasn't the only one affected – Hülkenberg, Button, Grosjean, and Hamilton also lost their chance at a maximum lap. Only Hamilton managed to advance; the other three were eliminated. Pérez missed out by just hundredths of a second, posting 1:16.999 to finish 11th.
Wu Shi drove back to the pits, unsurprised to hear Massa had been eliminated. Only he knew how difficult the car was to handle here – too much throttle on entry caused understeer, while applying power on exit triggered oversteer. It was a nightmare to drive. Without his ability to sense tire grip in real time, he was certain he would have crashed. Massa had been forced to slow down significantly just to avoid hitting the walls.