Chapter 228
Tire condition is fundamental to performance – better grip means faster corners and stronger acceleration. Hamilton had conserved energy and prepared to defend against Rosberg, knowing his teammate's target wasn't just second place, but Wu Shi ahead. He'd rather see Wu Shi win than let Rosberg extend his championship lead to 10 points.
"I should be allowed to pass – I'm faster and can bring the title home for the team," Rosberg said over radio.
"Focus on car safety – we need both cars to finish," Mercedes responded.
"Understood."
Rosberg knew clear team orders wouldn't come, so he shifted his focus to overtaking on track. He didn't get DRS on the main straight, but after passing the detection point, his steering wheel lit green – DRS was enabled for the next zone.
Turn 1 led into a long full-throttle section that dipped downhill then climbed back up. With DRS and Hamilton's slipstream, Rosberg pulled alongside, hitting 318 kph to Hamilton's 312 kph. The uphill stretch briefly slowed both cars, giving Hamilton a reprieve as he deployed full battery power – but his worn tires couldn't match Rosberg's pace.
Rosberg entered the braking zone first, 0.089 seconds ahead. Hamilton eased off early, letting the slope slow his car so he could brake faster and take a slow-in, fast-out line – just like Wu Shi had done earlier.
Rosberg braked hard on the inside, gaining an initial edge but suffering from fast-in, slow-out. Hamilton's line let him cut across, regaining ground and retaining DRS rights for the next section.
"Downhill after Turn 3! Rosberg leads by half a car length, squeezing his teammate! Hamilton activates DRS – he's moving left, accelerating like a rocket! Rosberg deploys full battery to defend! Side-by-side into the braking zone! Hamilton brakes first – same line as Wu Shi!"
Hamilton knew late braking was impossible with his tires. His early move relieved Rosberg, who'd made a mistake here in qualifying. Rosberg entered quickly on the inside but understeered wide on exit – Hamilton seized the moment, using a crossover line to retake position into Turn 5.
With the lead, Hamilton moved left across the track, blocking Rosberg completely.
"WHAT?! F***!"
Rosberg nearly collided – in his view, Hamilton should have stayed right for the inside line. The move made his teammate's intentions clear.
Through Turns 5-7, Hamilton drove aggressively from outside to inside, pushing Rosberg to track limits. Toto Wolff watched with a grim expression – the championship fight meant even team guidelines couldn't stop this battle.
Hamilton's rear wheels spun on exiting Turn 7 – his tires were nearly spent. With 8 laps left, pushing harder risked a blowout, and Massa was just 4 seconds behind, with Vettel close behind him. Still, Hamilton refused to yield.
At Turn 9, Hamilton slowed in – Rosberg dived inside, prioritizing safe overtaking over DRS benefits to preserve his tires. On the straight, Hamilton used DRS to close the gap but only led by half a car length at the end.
A rear wobble on corner exit forced Hamilton to open the throttle early, causing understeer and a wide line. Rosberg activated DRS and swept past on the downhill straight, pulling clear on the climb.
"Wu Shi – Rosberg has passed Hamilton. Gap is 2.6 seconds," Jonathan said, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Need his clean lap times."
On lap 65, Rosberg closed by 0.5 seconds but reported: "Front wing is vibrating – what's wrong?"
"Tire wear is abnormal," Mercedes replied.
He still closed by 0.4 seconds on lap 66 – gap down to 1.65 seconds with 5 laps left. Wu Shi could see the Mercedes behind him now; his tires were too worn to push harder without risking a slide.
Meanwhile, Vettel attacked Massa but was held back by Williams' straight-line speed. Bottas battled Verstappen, who'd pushed him off track twice already. On lap 69, Verstappen tried a late brake, missed a shift, and slid into the runoff – Bottas finally passed him.
Rosberg closed to 0.8 seconds with DRS active, but the final battle never materialized. Wu Shi positioned his car perfectly, disrupting Rosberg's rhythm with precise corner speed changes. Once, he nearly forced Rosberg into his rear wheel – the German flinched, letting Wu Shi pull away.
With Hamilton closing to 0.8 seconds behind him, Rosberg was trapped between front and back, unable to take risks.
"Final lap! Rosberg has no clear chances – both are on worn tires!"
"Turn 10! Straight! Checkered flag waving! Congratulations Wu Shi – another Grand Prix victory!"
"Crossing the line! Champion! Williams wins!!"
The Williams garage erupted. The front-left tire changer exhaled in relief – penalties would come, but the win was safe.
"WU SHI! YOU'RE THE CHAMPION! INCREDIBLE!"
"YES! THANK YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE I HELD ON!"
Mercedes was subdued – both made the podium, but the mood was flat.
"His first pole-to-win comes so soon! Thanks to Mercedes – their engine gives Williams the speed to compete!"
"Every win this year has been hard-fought. His mindset is incredible – so calm under pressure, like a true champion!"
Wu Shi yelled into the radio, releasing his frustration from the pit stop setback. He'd chosen to focus on racing rather than blame – assigning fault was the team's job. The car, tuned with his input, had maximized the Mercedes engine's potential on this high-speed track.
"Bring back some rubber," Jonathan said.
"Got it."
Wu Shi slowed to save fuel, waving to cheering fans as Hamilton pulled alongside and gave a thumbs-up – a gesture he returned immediately.
The podium cars rolled into the pit lane, stopping in place. Before Wu Shi could climb out, cheers erupted from the fence line.